BATTLE OF THE ANTS

Because I have slowly but surely stocked my pantry/fridge with local foods, most meals were predominantly—if not entirely—local. I have a few examples of the 100% local stuff below. I had many of these meals multiple times because I had the ingredients and they were darn good.


Here we have a standard "Egg in a Basket" (or whatever name you called this as a child) but with some salsa and cheese thrown on top.

Is it just me, or is the best part of Egg in a Basket the buttery toasted cutout part? I think it is.

EGGS IN A BASKET
- toast: Moscow Co-op (8mi) Salty French made with Shepherd's Grain (Columbia Plateau farmers, Spokane mill/distributor) flour.
- egg: Troyer's in Potlatch, ID (25mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- salsa: made by a lovely woman named Virginia, sold at the Co-op (8mi).
- butter: Darigold/Inland Northwest Dairies (Spokane-ish)
- Cougar Gold cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)

Last week I mentioned that I might try to work in some salads. Not being a huge fan of lettuce, I don't have as many salads as I should (I know I could use spinach, but...really I'm just lazy). Not this week. I worked a bunch of salads into the mix. Here's an example of a salad with fixings. I like a lot of fixings.

SALADY THINGS
- mixed greens: Affinity Farm, Moscow, ID (8mi)
- radishes: Affinity Farm, Moscow, ID (8mi)
- eggs: Troyer's in Potlatch, ID (25mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- Cougar Gold cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- Wildbeary Huckleberry Poppyseed dressing, from Coeur d'Alene, ID (90mi), via the Co-op (8mi). The huckleberries are probably from slightly outside my 100mi radius for local products, though.

The salad made another appearance, in a slightly different form, as a side to my cheeseburger meal(s).

Here we have a basic cheeseburger...except that it's an awesome cheeseburger because Eaton Beef is really good. Really, really good. This ground beef was marked 85% lean but I swear it was more like 95% lean.

When I saw Nikki Eaton at the Moscow Farmer's Market, I interrupted her conversation and begin gushing about their spectacular beef. And then I bought some more.

CHEESEBURGER
- ground beef: Eaton Beef, Colton, WA (10mi)
- egg: Troyer's in Potlatch, ID (25mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- breadcrumbs: Moscow Co-op bread (8mi)
- cheddar cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- bun: Moscow Co-op (8mi)
- Caruso's stoneground honey mustard, Pomeroy, WA (60mi)

I got fancy one day and made Uova e Spinaci Cotti alla Fiorentina. Italian makes everything fancy. This is just spinach and eggs and cheese baked in a ramekin. And I think it's not "authentic" because I didn't use parmigiano-reggiano, and I didn't eat it as a side. Basically, I had the fixings and wanted something with protein before I went off to teach. This is what I made.

SPINACH & EGGS
- spinach: Santa Creek Farm, St. Maries, ID (70mi) via the Co-op (8mi)
- egg: Troyer's in Potlatch, ID (25mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- butter & milk: Darigold/Inland Northwest Dairies (Spokane-ish)
- not local: nutmeg, salt, pepper

Finally, what I made today (for lunch...and dinner...and lunch tomorrow): steak and potatoes (with kale and cheese).

STEAK & POTATOES
- tenderloin pieces: Eaton Beef, Colton, WA (10mi)
- potatoes: generic local from the Co-op
- kale: Affinity Farms, Moscow, ID (8mi)
- Cougar Gold cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)


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I'm left with this question again...if you can eat local as a matter of course, why not do it?

Labels: foody, one local summer 08