Tag Archives: real food

The Winter Locavore

Posted on December 30, 2013 by AnnieRie

I miss the Dark Days Challenge. Back two years ago when I thought it would be hard to find local foods to cook a meal.

These days, after learning how bountiful our area is, I miss the challenge as a way to connect to other bloggers, who value eating seasonally and locally.

It is simple to eat mostly local foods at every meal, here in the MidAtlantic.

Breezy Willow Eggs

Breezy Willow Eggs

Breakfast is simple, if you use local eggs, bacon, locally baked breads, butter, yogurt, milk.

Lunch, lots of simple salads with high tunnel greens. Sold at markets. Like the winter indoor Olney Market at the Sandy Spring Museum, or the Saturday Silver Spring Market. Things like potato salad. Beets. Spinach. Mock’s greenhouse tomatoes, arugula, basil, chard.

Fritattas. Chicken or turkey salad made with local meats.

We have a freezer full of local meats. Fruit picked at Larriland. Tomatoes from my garden. Pesto. Greens. Corn. Fava Beans.

DSC_0038

I can easily use local food sources and my freezer to make meals most of the week. Saturday farm hours at Breezy Willow and Copper Penny. Saturday and Sunday at England Acres.

I just wish we still had that challenge to keep us interested in blogging about it. And, I am crossing my fingers that Mom’s in Jessup gets enough sign ups to make the winter CSA a go. We will know in about two weeks. CSA would start up again the week of the 20th.

As part of my resolution, I will cook a local meal most Sunday nights, and blog about it. Not a bad resolution.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in CSA, Dark Days, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Winter Eat Local and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

The Birthday Dinner

Posted on December 29, 2013 by AnnieRie

OK, I already know I can cook better than most restaurants in the county. At least for 90% of the food available.

Today I easily made a feast. No real effort. Just good ingredients.

Starting with lobster.

DSC_0004

Steamed lobster tails bought at Harris Teeter, and steamed here. Served with honey mustard butter.

Followed by sirloin tips from The Common Market in Frederick. Sides of tomatoes and potatoes. Tomatoes from Costco. Stuffed with basil and mozzarella. Potatoes from the CSA parboiled, then finished in the oven with honey mustard, onions, and mozzarella.

DSC_0009

Served with a couple of lovely wines. One, the barrel select Chardonnay from Breaux. The other, a nine year old Merlot from California.

DSC_0005

The rest of the white is in the fridge, waiting to be an aperitif tomorrow. The merlot. Later tonight will be dessert with some awesome dark chocolate bought at Roots.

This dinner, decadent as it was, was a fraction of the cost of going out. It took minimal effort to make. Fitting it in while watching the Ravens self destruct.

Seriously. Buy good ingredients. Make simple preparations. Serve with local wines.

hocofood@@@

Leave a comment

Posted in Food, Local Businesses, Uncategorized, Wine and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Making Resolutions … Or Not

Posted on December 28, 2013 by AnnieRie

Last year I replaced resolution making with my “Sixty@Sixty” challenge to do in my 60th year. I found it was much more fun but still productive.

Like in my rightsizing challenge. Taking on the kitchen and pantry, the overload of books not needed, the work clothing we had in the closet.

I made it through most of those categories, failing when it came to finishing six items in traveling, birding, festivals and diners.

I blogged a few days back about whether I would forego resolutions again in the upcoming year.

I decided on a hybrid of the two. A couple of challenges, mixed with some real resolutions.

We need to clean out our garage of things that don’t get used. Or that should be stored elsewhere. I think it’s one doable goal. That we can get done.

I want to expand my baking. Using yeast for things like bagels, pretzels, and some other challenges brought about by reading Smitten Kitchen after finding that great granola recipe from Deb’s cookbook.

I am also committed to break out of my rut and get us to those new destinations, even if just for an overnight trip.

I want to redo the garden, and I have seeds for some challenging plants, like cardoons and Malabar spinach.

I want to go to The Common Market once a month and bring home something from the bulk food bins that I have never cooked myself, like those exotic rices, beans, grains and nuts.

As for blogging, I made it through the year (well, I have three days left) with blogging daily. Sometimes it was posted after midnight, but there are posts for every day.

Next year, cutting it back, to eliminate some redundancy, to 4-5 times a week and focusing on local things to do, places to go, and my farm series needs to be resurrected.

DSC_0002

I also need to update those pages here on the blog, and finish the two draft pages I want to add.

As for time volunteering. The big challenge this year is the food preservation program I am working on. Plus, more time out on the trails around the Conservancy.

DSC_0004

It is good to be busy. To have goals. To keep retirement interesting. 2013 has been pretty eventful.

Here’s to turning 61 in a few hours. That’s not old. That’s just getting started in the seventh decade. And, soon it will be 2014. Amazing how time flies when we’re having fun.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bucket List, cookbooks, Day Trips, Farms, Food, Hobbies, miscellaneous, Retirement, Rightsizing, Sixty@Sixty, Volunteering and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Perfecting the Pate

Posted on December 14, 2013 by AnnieRie

With all the holiday parties coming up, and with three containers of musheooms sitting around, I went searching for a new non-dairy version of mushroom pate.

I used the Roots ingredient list as a starting point and went off to find what may use shiitake, cremini and Portobello mushrooms. Found a couple of candidates, but I wanted a creamier version than the recipes gave me.

These ended up being the “secret” indredients.

DSC_0061

A cream cheese alternative. Maple syrup. Tamari.

This is what I used.

12 oz. total of the mushrooms, about equal between the cremini, shiitake and the Portobello.

These were put in a pan with about 2 tbsp. of olive oil. A little salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp of thyme and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Cooked until browned. Cooled.

Then, mixed in the food processor with 1/4 cup of toasted walnut pieces. Four cloves of roasted garlic. 1 tsp of lemon juice. 1/2 tsp of tamari. 1 tbsp. of maple syrup. 4 ounces of the non dairy cheese.

It came out looking like this.

DSC_0062

Tastes almost like the Roots version but made just a bit different with the addition of that cheese.

This is a winner. It will be taken to a few parties.

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Food, Real Food and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Santa’s Little Helper

Posted on December 11, 2013 by AnnieRie

At least in our house, the major helper as I prepare for Christmas is right here.

DSC_0018

Yes, it is the crock pot. Without it, trying to accomplish all the decorating, cleaning, baking, writing cards and wrapping presents would be quite a bit more complicated.

I have to admit, I didn’t use my old crock pot very much. With my long work hours, I wasn’t able to time things for them to be ready when I got home. They usually were mush after my eleven hours out of the house. Working in DC meant long days.

I have pretty much perfected the timing these days. Get everything out of the freezer by nine. Crock pot started before ten. A six hour cooking on high setting, with the warming function keeping dinner warm until we are ready to eat about six.

Soups are the best thing to make using items from my freezer. Add a jar of chicken stock, some tomatoes maybe, whatever protein works best and then fill in from the CSA veggies.

I have a tag in the blog. Crock pot soups. Lots of variations using some very basic items.

Any sort of greens from the CSA will make a very good base for soups. Like the kale from last week.

DSC_0005

A pint of stock. A couple of ham bones from Copper Penny Farm. A couple of cans of organic cannellini beans. A few carrots, some celery and an onion. That’s all you need to make bean soup for dinner. Oh, salt, pepper, garlic powder.

If you get really busy during the holiday season, consider using that crock pot to make some rich flavorful soups. So far this week I have made three different soups. When the temperatures get down below freezing at night, soups, stews and chili are our favorite meals.

A collection of some of the best I have made.

Grandma’s Tomato Soup
Navy Bean Soup
Freezer Clean Out Sausage Soup
Venison Chili

super bowl 2 006

The possibilities are endless. Break out that crock pot and make dinner the easy way.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Locavore, Real Food, Winter Eat Local and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Icy Weather

Posted on December 9, 2013 by AnnieRie

Yep, it snowed yesterday and iced up overnight. Not a pretty sight out by the evergreens.

DSC_0037

We lost a few limbs. Most of them, though, just were heavily laden with ice. We try to keep the trees healthy. And, we cross our fingers most of the time when the ice comes our way.

DSC_0050

Everywhere in the yard, I was taking stock. Making sure the best trees looked OK and weren’t about to break off limbs.

Today was also a soup day. Nothing beats a good hearty soup, to warm you up after time spent shoveling snow.

DSC_0006

This was turkey noodle soup. I keep a container full of pasta and noodles, to use for soups and stews.

DSC_0008

Pasta shapes. Whole wheat noodles. Pot pie noodles.

Today, I combined leftover Maple Lawn turkey with CSA chicken stock. Added one carrot, one stalk of celery with leaves and the green part of half a dozen scallions. Some salt and pepper. Simmered it while we shoveled snow.

Lunch was wonderful. While our clothes dried out.

DSC_0002

Now, we have to get ready for round two tomorrow. I am so ready for winter to end, and it just began.

hocofood@@@

Leave a comment

Posted in CSA, Food, Weather, West HoCo and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

CSA Pick Up Today

Posted on December 5, 2013 by AnnieRie

In short sleeves. Couldn’t believe it was 60 something degrees out there. Didn’t feel like fall, but we got our delivery of fall veggies today. Week Five of the Sandy Spring CSA, with the cooperative farmers’ contributions to our basket of goodies.

DSC_0001

This is what we were supposed to get. I did make one swap.

One Bag Desiree Potatoes
One Bag Orange Carrots
One Bag Hamon White Sweet Potatoes
One rutabaga (I swapped to get an acorn squash)
Three Large Leeks
One Bag Curly Kale
Four Enterprise Apples
One Bag Scarlet Turnips
One Package Shiitake Mushrooms
One Package Portobello Mushroom Caps

Also this week, the bread was multigrain. And, my two chickens which come biweekly.

DSC_0004

I like the bread option of this CSA. It has been one pound boules. Each week a different variety. So far my favorite has been the rye with caraway. We use these breads for dinner, with soups or stews.

I also am happy to see the mushrooms. I will be trying to duplicate Root’s market vegan mushroom pate with these.

I am glad to see only ten items this week. I can make headway on the backlog of greens in my refrigerator. It must have been a very good year on the farms, as week after week we have gotten very large amounts of each item. Signs of a good harvest, but somewhat daunting when you are not always home to cook. Due to Thanksgiving and dinners out, I have fallen behind a bit.

I think it’s time to slow cook a deep richly flavored veggie broth to tide us over the five week period with no CSA.

This week, by the way, had us getting new items. For us, at least. Enterprise apples are a variety we had never seen. One of them lasted an hour before my husband had it as a snack after yard work.

And, scarlet turnips. I don’t believe I’ve seen these before. They are supposed to be sweeter than the purple topped turnips we get. We shall see how they taste compared to our favorite, which is baby Hakurei white turnips.

Just to show how much I enjoy the diversity of our veggies, here is a picture of tonight’s dinner.

DSC_0020

The radishes are from a few weeks back. Roasted with nothing but grapeseed oil on them, then finished with a little butter and garam masala. The greens, a mix of tatsoi and komatsuna, stir fried with scallions, tamari, and sesame seeds. Leftover Maple Lawn turkey. Having exotic veggies around the house makes cooking interesting for me. And, really good tasting for us.

hocofood@@@

3 Comments

Posted in CSA, Food, Locavore, Real Food and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Cookie Monster

Posted on December 1, 2013 by AnnieRie

It’s December, and my focus turns to cookies. Christmas cookies. One of the first planning items, right before doing the Christmas cards, and getting the live greens for decoration.

Mickey Gomez, a fellow hoco blogger, had me looking for potential candidates for sugar cookies.

DSC_0002

On her Facebook page, baking with her grandmother. Prompted a search for old Rumford recipes.

DSC_0004

My mom’s cookies. Something I can’t seem to duplicate, so I may be messing around for the next few days, trying recipes.

I need a few dozen to take to the Conservancy crafts fair Saturday. Might be time to try some experiments in baking.

I have decided to use those lovely molasses cookies from my post last week, as my new cookie in the box.

DSC_0003

The ones from Bon Appetit, post was here.

I got a good supply of Trickling Springs butter, and lots of chocolate, sugar and flour. Time to get baking.

After all, it is December!

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in cookbooks, Family, Food, People, Real Food, Remember When and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Turkey Lurkey

Posted on November 30, 2013 by AnnieRie

My mostly local Thanksgiving meal. Done tonight for just the two of us.

DSC_0014

Pretty traditional this year. Roasted turkey. Green bean casserole. Mashed potatoes. Sausage dressing.

Every element of the meal had local ties.

Let’s start with our turkey. An eleven pound Maple Lawn Farm fresh “hen”.

DSC_0007

Brined for sixteen hours in advance. I found a basic apple cider, salt, brown sugar, orange peel, bay leave, garlic, rosemary and water brine.

Roasted at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, and 90 minutes at 350 degrees. Trickling Springs butter under the skin. Grapeseed oil rubbed over the top, and a poultry mix sprinkled everywhere.

Really moist turkey this year. The right amount of time in the brine, and it wasn’t overcooked. I have a crock pot full of bones, skin and the innards, with a couple gallons of water, which will cook all night to make stock.

Side dishes this year. My take on classics, but revved up a bit.

Mashed potatoes included goat cheese, butter and milk. These were CSA potatoes, a mix of Yukon Gold and white potatoes.

I made a green bean casserole using Breezy Willow’s beans. Blanched them first, then put them in a casserole with some organic condensed cream of mushroom soup I got at Roots. Half of the container became the base for the gravy. The onion on top the beans was a CSA yellow onion that I roasted yesterday until it was crispy. It added flavor without all that breading and greasiness the canned onions have.

DSC_0006

The dressing was simple. Bread cubes mixed with turkey stock (I started the stock early today, using only the innards and water, celery, carrots and scallions. Cooked up about 4 ounces of Boarman’s homemade country sausage and mixed it in. A little sage, salt and pepper. Baked alongside the green beans.

Complementing the meal, a Finger Lakes Pinot Noir. 2007 Konstantin Frank.

DSC_0016

Really a soft wine. Glad we opened it. It is just starting to fade a bit.

All in all, just enough food. I didn’t go overboard on anything other than making just a bit too many potatoes.

As for leftovers, I have two cups of shredded turkey to make a soup. One leg to use for a lunch salad next week. One complete breast for a salad or dinner. A couple of thighs for another dinner.

Keeping it local. Supporting small businesses. I may not have shopped today, but I did pretty well.

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in CSA, Farms, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Wine and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

The Thanksgiving Basket

Posted on November 27, 2013 by AnnieRie

In CSA terms.

DSC_0001

We got an email Monday, letting us know what might be there. So we could plan. The final tally wasn’t far off.

We got:
Butternut Squash
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Beauregard Sweet Potatoes
Turnips
Green Cabbage
Red Leaf Lettuce
Arugula
Lacinato Kale Hearts
Celeriac

All of us got those. The boxes also had three items that may have varied from box to box.

In my box:
White Cauliflower
Parsnips
Rutabaga

I swapped the rutabaga and parsnips.

Partially because there was a bag of arugula in the swap box, and I dearly love arugula. And, I wanted more leeks to make a cauliflower leek soup. There were leeks in the swap box too.

The swap box is a wonderful thing. Want to double up on something? Or, not feeling the love for an item. Swap it.

Today, though, I was really enjoying the large amount of greens. We are eating salads with lunch and dinner, so we go through quite a bit of greens. I just finished the last of the Love Dove Farms arugula, and had one head of salanova lettuce from last week left.

I really like the looks of the red leaf lettuce.

DSC_0002

Besides these fresh veggies for the holidays, I got my weekly loaf of bread. This week it was a classic French boule.

DSC_0005

Before heading over to Columbia and the CSA site, I stopped in Boarman’s to get my Maple Lawn turkey, and my order of sausage and oysters.

This will be a serious cooking weekend.

DSC_0007

Making an Oysters Rockefeller Casserole, and sausage dressing with my turkey. Friday night, our personal Thanksgiving dinner. You know, that dinner made with what you want to cook.

Happy Turkey Day!

2 Comments

Posted in CSA, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Winter Eat Local and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →