BATTLE OF THE ANTS

This has been a busy week. The semester starts on Monday and this week has been all about orientation and welcoming activities for the new folks (they seem great so far!) as well as last-minute preparations for classes. Tomorrow my pals and I are going out for one last extravaganza (we're going to play BINGO all day. seriously.) so I knew that I had to get my OLS post up today.

I've been grazing on salads and fruit and what not all day, so I wasn't hungry for a multiple-item meal. I just made a frittata and ate a big slice of it. But it was a really, really good slice. The pre-sliced version appears below.

Mmmmm....eggy cheesy corn and potato goodness with an onion thrown in there for good measure. This is an adaptation of the Frittata with Corn, Scallion, and Potato recipe from Serious Eats. I swapped onion for scallion, yellow and red potatoes for a russet, and used Cougar Gold (duh!) instead of mozzarella. I also ended up with too much mixture for my skillet and ended up baking some of the mixture in a ramekin. I actually liked the baked version better, but perhaps it was just the ability to scoop out of the ramekin rather than eat a slice off a plate. Either way, it was super good.


FRITTATA WITH CORN, POTATO, ONION
- potatoes: Fanky Farm, Warden WA (w/in 100mi as the crow flies, and I dug 'em out of the ground)
- eggs: Troyer's in Potlatch, ID (25mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- corn: unknown farm name/location, bought from them at the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi)
- onion: Affinity Farm, Moscow ID (8mi)
- garlic: Pokey Creek Organics in Santa, ID (60mi), purchased at the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi)
- cougar gold cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- dill: Santa Creek Farm, St. Maries, ID (70mi) via the Co-op (8mi)

not local: oil, salt, pepper

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

I knew I had to make something special (read: with a picture) since last week was all about the non-photogenic leftovers, but it has been HOT HOT HOT for the last few days and turning on the oven sounded like a terrible idea. But I didn't think I could get away with saying I've had One Local Salad and plenty of local water every day. That's just not in the spirit of the challenge. However, it is true that I have had One Local Sald and plenty of local water every day.

Early in the week, when I wasn't sure if I would manage something special, I snapped a picture of a mundane—but typical and good—dinner of cube steak, potatoes, and corn. The steak is from Eaton Beef (Colton, WA - 10mi) and the corn is from a vendor at the farmer's market in Moscow (unknown farm) and the POTATOES, oh the potatoes...they're from our trip to the Fanky Farm in Warden, WA. Warden is just over 100mi in the car, but it is within 100mi as the crow flies (on this map, Warden is slightly east of Othello). I picked those potatoes out of the ground and they were awesome. There's nothing else in this meal except a little salt and pepper. I could eat this every day of the week.

But I didn't.

I did, however, make up a Honey Rhubarb Betty—not for dinner, although I think I might have eaten some for dinner one day...good stuff!

HONEY RHUBARB BETTY
- rhubarb: Santa Creek Farm, St. Maries, ID (70mi) via the Co-op (8mi)
- butter: Rosauers brand (Spokane-ish, Inland NW cows), purchased in Moscow (8mi)
- honey: Harvard Honey Bees, Princeton, ID (28mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- bread: Moscow Co-op bread made with Shepherd's Grain flour (8mi)
- not local: 1/4 C of sugar (I cut it from 3/4 C), 1t nutmeg, dash salt

But the signature dish for the week is a recipe from 101 Cookbooks for Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake. I love anything with ricotta in it, and a savory cheesecake sounded like a spectacular idea. Below are photos of the whole thing, plus a photo of just a slice of it. The slice didn't last very long...maybe 30 seconds before I gobbled it down. Mmm mmm good. Click through for larger images.

ZUCCHINI RICOTTA CHEESECASE
- zucchini: Affinity Farm, Moscow ID (8mi)
- ricotta: made by me from Rosauers brand milk (Spokane-ish, Inland NW cows), purchased in Moscow (8mi)
- cougar gold cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- onion: Fanky Farm, Warden WA (see above)
- garlic: Pokey Creek Organics in Santa, ID (60mi), purchased at the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi)
- dill: Santa Creek Farm, St. Maries, ID (70mi) via the Co-op (8mi)
- eggs: Troyer's in Potlatch, ID (25mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- not local: salt, olive oil

I changed it up just a little bit to keep it local. I used all Cougar Gold instead of parm and goat cheese, swapped out onion for shallot, and I nixed the lemon. I don't think these changes hurt one bit.

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

The sausage/veggies/pasta meal from last week was good for many meals this week. Also, I was happy to have a local salad (greens, carrots, cucumbers, eggs, cheese, dressing) every day, and on one day (a particularly trying day) I'm pretty sure all I ate was ice cream from Ferdinand's.

In other words, I don't have a "showcase" dish to share but I ate local pretty damn near every day this week. The weekends are when I make my special local meal for the challenge, and I was gone all day yesterday (a grand Bingo excursion) and will be out of the house for a chunk of time today (going to meet Rhonda for lunch), so my report of local leftovers and salads will have to do.

I did get a bunch of stuff at the farmer's market yesterday though, and look forward to cooking it up this week. My stash includes a quart of huckleberries—those things are like gold! I believe there are baked goods in my future...

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

I mentioned to someone yesterday that this is no longer a challenge, really. As I've documented on this blog, I've settled into a groove: farmers market, Co-op, make a bunch of food, eat it all week long, repeat. While I could do much better (see: yearofplenty.org and that lovely family in Spokane), I'm pleased with the changes I've made. Probably next year I'll try my hand at canning things, and we're already talking about getting together a buying group for chickens. In other words, this summer has been a good start but still is just start.

I went to the market yesterday without much of a plan, but that will change next week. Everything is ready now: all the leafy greens, the root vegetables, the potatoes, the tomatoes, the fruit, etc. For instance, one farm (Tonnemaker Hill Farm of Royal City WA) had at least fifteen different varieties of peppers. I am not a huge fan of peppers (combine that with my relative dislike of warm tomato products and I'm just about the worst Italian ever) but I want to try some of theirs. I will do some research to see just what I might like before the market next week.

The featured local dish for this week is very simple, contains two things that in the past I have not particularly liked, contains one thing I never thought I'd get at the market, and turned out to be the best dish I've made so far this summer—and I've loved everything I've made so that's saying something.

At the market, Nikki Eaton of Eaton Beef said "Hey Julie, do you like summer sausage?" to which I said something like "Hell yes" and grabbed it out of her hands. I thawed it immediately and planned to use it in today's featured dish. I also picked up a few zucchini because I thought I'd make some zucchini bread. I got some Walla Walla onions and some tomatoes, and then realized that in my bag I had all the fixings for a tasty sauté—which is just what I made.

As I cooked up the aforementioned sausage, zucchini, onions, and tomatoes, my pasta was drying on the rack. Yep, I made fettuccine too, and dumped the sautéed stuff on top. Freaking delicious. Who knew? Probably all of you who like zucchini and cooked tomatoes already, I'm sure.


SUMMER SAUSAGE, ZUCCHINI, ONIONS, AND TOMATOES ON HOMEMADE FETTUCINI
- flour: Shepherd's Grain (Columbia Plateau farmers, Spokane mill/distributor), via the Co-op (8mi)
- eggs: Troyer's in Potlatch, ID (25mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- summer sausage: Eaton Beef, Colton WA (10mi)
- zucchini: Affinity Farm, Moscow ID (8mi)
- onion: Affinity Farm, Moscow ID (8mi)
- tomato: from another farmer whose name I can't remember but I got it from the Farmers Market, Moscow ID (8mi)
- cougar gold cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- not local: olive oil, pepper
********************
I put a little cougar gold on everything, it seems. It really isn't dinner without a little cougar gold.

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

Although I missed writing a post for Week 7 because of my self-imposed exile, I didn't skip out on eating locally. As has been the theme throughout this challenge for me, I've found that the majority of my food each day is local—that includes an all-local meal each day even if it's "just" a salad and a sandwich or eggs and toast. But for this week I've taken the time to photograph some all-local meals so they "count" for the challenge.

You'll notice the focus on meat in these. I am an unabashed omnivore, and I am a huge fan of Eaton Beef. Thus the focus on the meat. I'm going to quote from Jim's blog on just why we love Eaton Beef:

Eaton Beef sells cuts of meat from their 100% grass-fed cattle. The cattle live a proper ruminant's life - they are not force fed rations of grain, they are not prematurely fattened, they are not raised in the festering shit swamps we euphemistically call feedlots - they graze grass and mature normally, and the meat we get from them is better for it and so are we. It's karmic, really. The cows are treated humanely and the meat they produce is healthier for us. It's rare to find cuts like those Eaton sells, most of the time if you want grass-fed, be ready to buy half a cow and clear your freezer out. It's a fitting place to worship during our Saturday morning ritual, especially since all ritual, as far as I know, began as a way to feel better about killing animals. Eaton makes the guilty nearly guiltless.

As an aside, I really think Jim needs a larger audience. The guy can write.

Anyway, even Eaton cube steak is good. I love cube steak. I'm not afraid to say it. I think I ate a lot of it as a kid because it was cheap. It wasn't the best cut of meat. Usually it was stringy and tough and just...not all that flavorful. But like I said, even Eaton cube steak is good. It tastes like a "regular" steak that just happened to be pounded flat.

Two bucks for a dinner consisting of 100% grass-fed beef? I'll take it! Also featured in this meal: a salad made with entirely local ingredients, and roasted potatoes and asparagus.


CUBE STEAK, POTATOES AND ASPARAGUS, SALAD
- cube steak: Eaton Beef, Colton WA (10mi)
- potatoes: Affinity Farm, Moscow ID (8mi)
- asparagus: from farmer whose name I can't remember but I got it from the Farmers Market, Moscow ID (8mi)
- mixed greens: Pokey Creek Organics in Santa, ID (60mi), purchased at the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi)
- radishes: Affinity Farm, Moscow ID (8mi)
- eggs: Hufford Farm, Deary, ID (33mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- tomato: from another farmer whose name I can't remember but I got it from the Farmers Market, Moscow ID (8mi)
- cougar gold cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- Wildbeary Huckleberry Poppyseed dressing, from Coeur d'Alene, ID (90mi), via the Co-op (8mi).
- not local: olive oil, salt, pepper


I love a good sandwich, and the other day I taught Toria and Lauren how to make steak sandwiches and homemade mayonnaise. I figured I had better do it in my own kitchen as well otherwise I'd be running over to their house for leftovers all the time.

So here we have a steak sandwich with homemade mayonnaise, sliced tomatoes, grilled onions, and a wee bit of cheese on top.

STEAK SANDWICH
- deli-sliced steak: Eaton Beef, Colton WA (10mi)
- tomato: from a farmer whose name I can't remember but I got it from the Farmers Market, Moscow ID (8mi)
- onion: Affinity Farm, Moscow ID (8mi)
- eggs: Hufford Farm, Deary, ID (33mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- baguette: Wheatberries Bakery, Moscow ID (8mi)
- cheddar cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- not local: vegetable oil and dried mustard for the mayo


Finally we come to the meal I just ate a few minutes ago. It's a typical steak and [something] and a salad, but that [something] was interesting and delicious. In this case, the [something] was honey-glazed turnips.

I love root vegetables and I love honey, so when I saw this recipe at Serious Eats I immediately bookmarked it.

I finally got to make it and they were very good. I will buy more turnips next week for sure!


STEAK, HONEY-GLAZED TURNIPS, SALAD
- steak: Eaton Beef, Colton WA (10mi)
- turnips: Affinity Farm, Moscow ID (8mi)
- honey: Harvard Honey Bees, Princeton, ID (28mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- mixed greens: Pokey Creek Organics in Santa, ID (60mi), purchased at the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi)
- radishes: Affinity Farm, Moscow ID (8mi)
- tomato: from a farmer whose name I can't remember but I got it from the Farmers Market, Moscow ID (8mi)
- cougar gold cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- Wildbeary Huckleberry Poppyseed dressing, from Coeur d'Alene, ID (90mi), via the Co-op (8mi).
- not local: olive oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt


***************
Here's to more good eats!

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

Some things I have managed to do consistently include having some down time with my friends, cooking (or teaching people how to cook..and hopefully they will write about that soon), and shopping at the farmers market. Every Saturday we meet up at 7:45 (too early, as you can see in this photo, unless you are like me and have a totally messed up sleep schedule)—"we" means myself, the Trouts, and Toria and Lauren.

We carpool to Moscow even though it's all of 8 miles. The farmers market is small and it takes very little time to make it through the whole thing. We hit the key vendors—Tonnemaker Hill Farm for cherries (even if we did all spend some time cherry-picking the weekend before at the WSU Orchard...), Pokey Creek Organics for spinach, mixed lettuce, cabbage, garlic, and jams, Affinity Farms for big leafy greens, onions, beets, and potatoes, Wheatberries Bakery for pretzels, stuffed and unstuffed baguettes, and finally the folks at Eaton Beef. We have a system. We get there shortly after 8am (when it opens) and are finished with our shopping usually by 8:45.

But the best part is the next part of the day.

We put our bags in the car and walk over to the Co-Op to do the rest of the shopping for the week. But before we grab our carts and baskets we grab our coffees and teas and sit in the little café area and chat for...oh, upwards of an hour or more. One day it was kid day and we watched a bunch of 3 or 4 year-olds do yoga. But even without the kids doing yoga, it's a lovely and relaxing time. In fact, the whole day tends to be lovely and relaxing after time spent in Moscow.

If you don't believe me, believe Jim, because he wrote a far better post about it all.

Labels: foody, misc life

I only managed to make one "new" all-local meal this week, but throughout the week I had an all-local salad for lunch almost every day, or breakfasts made with local eggs and toast and jam. You might notice a theme; my "maintenance" meals tend to be the same until I get really bored (takes some time to get to that point) or I run out of food. I have so much work to do that I haven't had time to sit down and make large batches of new foods, so I'm just maintainin'.

I did have a wonderful time yesterday at the Moscow Farmers Market, because a bunch of us went together and did all our shopping. Hooray for carpooling, canvas bags, seeing several other members of our department, and purchasing a bunch of local vegetables and beef. It was a good day. I was able to introduce the Trout family and Toria to the farmers I like, and the Trouts were able to give Toria the lecture on removing high fructose corn syrup from her life. It rocked her world a little bit, but we're all working on her to make that change.

Anyway, the special meal I made this week was spinach and ricotta lasagna. I highly recommend visiting that website for a great photo. Mine is...blurry and contrasty and doesn't show the layers and general awesomeness. It was really tasty.

I made the pasta from scratch, as well as the ricotta. Go me!

SPINACH & RICOTTA LASAGNA
- eggs: Hufford Farm, Deary, ID (33mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- flour: Shepherd's Grain (Columbia Plateau farmers, Spokane mill/distributor), via the Co-op (8mi)
- onion: from the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi), didn't get the name of the farm
- spinach: Pokey Creek Organics in Santa, ID (60mi), via the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi)
- ricotta: made by me from Rosauers brand milk (Spokane-ish, Inland NW cows), purchased in Moscow (8mi)
- milk: Rosauers brand (Spokane-ish, Inland NW cows), purchased in Moscow (8mi)
- cougar gold cheese: WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- not local: nutmeg, olive oil

I also just remembered that since I had the pasta roller out, and some pasta left over, I made some more ravioli and filled them with the beet filling from last week's Red Casunziei. I'll have those tomorrow, perhaps. Also in the fridge are a bunch of greens that I'll probably sauté and throw in with some potatoes (local), or maybe risotto (non-local), and more salads (local), and some deli meat (local) and some chicken (regional, not local)...boy do I eat well...

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

Today is Beth's birthday. She's our Asst. Dir. of Composition, and she's really awesome. There's also a freshman placement exam reading session today, which means that a bunch of people will be in one room for several hours—including Beth. So I figured what's a girl to do besides make cupcakes? Exactly.

Luckily I asked Beth what she likes and it turns out she doesn't like chocolate, so it's a good thing I asked since she would have gotten the cupcake version of Shuna Fish Lydon's yellow cake with chocolate frosting (because I love it so much). Since chocolate was out, I said "what about cherry?" because I knew the cherries were good 'round here. She likes cherry, so cherry it is.

I made the Cherry-Vanilla cupcakes from Chockylit's Cupcake Bakeshop blog. I used local ingredients when I could (milk, flour, eggs, butter, fresh cherries) but the sugar, salt, and vanilla, and maraschino cherries are not local. So it's half-local. It's all good.

I had to take some cupcakes over to Toria and Lauren's apartment last night so they could verify the cupcakes were ok for public consumption. I figured they would be, but my taste buds were overwhelmed by the tasting of ingredients that when I tried a whole cupcake I really couldn't tell if it was ok or not. It was. They confirmed. Hopefully Beth will like them!

Labels: foody

I'm still a little sad that otter pops aren't local because if they were I'd list them a billion times in this space. It's been hot, and otter pops are a cure-all, that's for sure. But when I tore myself away from the otter pops and actually had substantial food, I did a good job. I had an all-local salad for lunch almost every day (a big deal since I am not a fan of the mixed greens, but with radishes and hard-boiled egg and a little cheese, I can ignore the greens part!). It cooled off a bit over the weekend and I made some things that I wanted to try...namely making cheese and making pasta. Success!

But first, the breakfasty sorts of items...

Here we have a heart breakfast. Really hearty. It's an omelet sort of thing (steak, eggs, cheese), plus a cut-up tomato and some wheat toast with strawberry jam. I don't think I ate again until dinner time.

HEARTY BREAKFAST
- toast: Moscow Co-op (8mi) wheat bread made with Shepherd's Grain (Columbia Plateau farmers, Spokane mill/distributor) flour.
- strawberry jam: Pokey Creek Organics in Santa, ID (60mi), purchased at the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi)
- eggs: Hufford Farm, Deary, ID (33mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- "cooking cheese": WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- leftover tenderloin pieces: Eaton Beef, Colton, WA (10mi)
- tomato: one of very few at a stand at the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi) [I forgot the name of the farm]
- not local: salt, pepper

Continuing the trend of things with eggs, I liked the Uova e Spinaci Cotti alla Fiorentina I made two weeks ago that I made it again...only this time I threw some salami into the mix. Salami wasn't on my shopping list, but when I went into Ferdinand's to get cheese I saw a few hunks of "WSU Meats Salami." I couldn't resist. It is super good. I am assuming that some of the pigs down the road gave their lives to become extras in my breakfast.

SPINACH & EGGS & SALAMI
- spinach: Santa Creek Farm, St. Maries, ID (70mi) via the Co-op (8mi)
- egg: Hufford Farm, Deary, ID (33mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- salami: WSU Meats, Pullman WA (2mi)
- butter & milk: Rosauers brand (Spokane-ish, Inland NW cows), purchased in Moscow (8mi)
- not local: salt, pepper

Next we have a bona fide dessert! I was watching Alton Brown's Good Eats on Friday night, and he made Dutch Oven Cherry Clafouti. I don't have a dutch oven and I don't cook outside, but I knew there would be cherries at the farmers market the next day and so I bookmarked the recipe and planned to make it on Saturday...and so I did.

The cherries almost didn't make it into the clafouti, though, because they were all going directly into my mouth. Note to self: buy more cherries next week.

This dessert is super easy and super good.

CHERRY CLAFOUTI
- cherries: Tonnemaker Hill Farm, Royal City WA (130mi), purchased at the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi) // I realize Royal City is outside the 100mi radius, but I didn't realize that when I was shopping at the market 8mi away. I could have walked past their table and purchased from someone else, but frankly I consider anyone who comes to my local farmers market to be "local". As the crow flies, it's within the 100mi limit, and it's in a county that borders mine. I say local.
- eggs: Hufford Farm, Deary, ID (33mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- honey (substituted for sugar): Harvard Honey Bees, Princeton, ID (28mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- milk: Rosauers brand (Spokane-ish, Inland NW cows), purchased in Moscow (8mi)
- flour: Shepherd's Grain (Columbia Plateau farmers, Spokane mill/distributor), purchased at the Co-op (8mi).
- note: the recipe calls for vanilla, which would not have been local, and I made it without it anyway.

Finally, the pièce de résistance: Red Casunziei (beet ravioli). Excuse the mixing of languages, but I was excited about it. I've wanted to make this recipe since the moment I saw it pop up in my feedreader (June 6, if you must know): How Sweet It Is: Casunziei/Casumziei (Beet Ravioli) with Brown Butter and Poppy Seeds (from the blog We Are Never Full).

I had to wait until I had time to do this one up right, because it required me to make my own ricotta and pasta. I had never done either before, sad to say. But now I'm a pro. Well, I've done it once and no one died. Ricotta is totally easy. Who knew? Probably all you people making your own ricotta. Making pasta is a little bit of a pain in the butt, even with a roller (I have the pasta attachment for my KitchenAid but not the roller attachment—that thing is pricy! I have one of those hand-crank rollers, though. Up next will be pasta from the pasta attachment, like lasagna noodles or fettucine, because that hand-crank thing is not my favorite.). When I was making the sheets to cut ravioli from, I thought to myself "there's no way in hell my grandmother had the patience to do this." I called my dad and asked and he couldn't remember a time when my grandmother made pasta by hand, although I'm sure she did since she was born in 1926 and purchasing pasta probably wouldn't have been the norm in their small town with only twenty or so Italian families. But I could be wrong, since their family also had a grocery store in the 50s. Dad does remember my great-grandmother taking up the entire kitchen table with all the pasta-making/rolling equipment, though.

But I digress. The point is the skill wasn't passed down to me by anyone...but I did a good job today. A really good job. I would totally make this dish for a dinner party.

FOR THE RAVIOLI:
- flour: Shepherd's Grain (Columbia Plateau farmers, Spokane mill/distributor), purchased at the Co-op (8mi).
- eggs: Hufford Farm, Deary, ID (33mi), via the Co-op (8mi)
- not local: olive oil

FOR THE STUFFING:
- beets: Affinity Farm, Moscow, ID (8mi)
- potato: generic "local" bin at the Co-op
- ricotta: made by me from Rosauers brand milk (Spokane-ish, Inland NW cows), purchased in Moscow (8mi)
- milk: Rosauers brand (Spokane-ish, Inland NW cows), purchased in Moscow (8mi)
- "cooking cheese": WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- not local: nutmeg, vinegar for the ricotta

FOR THE SAUCE/TOPPING:
- butter: Rosauers brand (Spokane-ish, Inland NW cows), purchased in Moscow (8mi)
- sage: my backyard
- "cooking cheese": WSU Creamery, Pullman, WA (2mi)
- not local: poppy seeds, salt

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Them's good eats!

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

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

Here we have a relatively non-photogenic, yet very tasty, "spotlight" local meal for the week. In my post below I mentioned that in reality the majority of my meals now come from local sources, as I am slowly but surely switching my pantry/fridge to local foods when available.

That means that over the course of the week, my breakfast omelets have all used local eggs, butter, spinach, and cheese, my sandwiches tend toward grilled cheese (with various fruit or veggie extras), if I want toast with butter and jam it's all local, and so on. My freezer has a bunch of local ground beef, and there are plenty of local potatoes in the cupboard.

So what did I do today? I made pasta.

GNOCCHI
- potatoes, still the specifically unidentified ones from last week, from a box at the Co-op (8mi) stamped "local"

- egg, from Troyer's in Potlatch, ID (25mi), via the Co-op (8mi)

- flour, from Shepherd's Grain (Columbia Plateau farmers, Spokane mill/distributor)


BÉCHAMEL SAUCE
- butter and milk, from Darigold/Inland Northwest Dairies (Spokane-ish)

- flour, from Shepherd's Grain

- spinach, from Pokey Creek Organics in Santa, ID (60mi), purchased at the Moscow Farmers Market (8mi)

- salt, pepper, nutmeg: not local.

*************

Doesn't get more basic than this, and I proclaim it good eats. Next week I will make something more photogenic...I might even have a salad! (I am not such a big fan of leafy salads, but I am trying to incorporate them into my life.)

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

A few days ago, Nicole at Farm to Philly wrote about an article on MSNBC regarding "locavores" in which the author refers to the practice as "extremist." In fact, the title of the article is "Extreme Consumerism".

Much like Nicole, I fail to see exactly what is so "extreme" about eating what is in season, supporting local farmers, and just in general knowing a thing or two about where your food comes from and just who handled it—and how?

Let's take a look at this quote from the article:

Recently, however, a small but devoted number of Americans have started to think a lot more about the origin of the food going into their grocery cart. Worried about the environmental impact of shipping food hundreds of miles, plus the dwindling fate of local farmers [...]

Can't take issue with this. In fact, yes, this is why I've started thinking seriously about the food I eat. However, this is how the author finishes the statement:

- and obsessed with the idea of eating really good food - these extreme eaters try to only buy food that is grown within a 100-mile radius of their own home.

"Obsessed"? "Extreme"? I suppose it's all a matter of perspective. Again, quoting Nicole because I just woke up and am only a few ounces into my coffee [Craven's Coffee Earth & Sky blend, grown organically elsewhere and roasted in Spokane, WA ; half & half from Broadview Dairy, part of the Inland NW Dairies group which uses milk from cows in the region and processes and distributes from Spokane, WA], "I like the idea of being a rebel just because I happen to like uber-fresh food grown by someone I have personally met. Let's all be rebels! Rebels with a cause!" Ha ha. Read the rest of Nicole's take on it for her comments on canning and the cost-efficiency of her eating local practices; I'm just going to talk about my own action plan.

When I lived in California, I rarely took advantage of the local goodness that existed all around me. I paid little attention to where things were from—possibly because in a Whole Foods in California it's a good bet that a bunch of the stuff I picked up was actually local (if not within 100mi, then definitely within 200mi). I tried only to buy organics, but I wasn't entirely attuned to the production mechanisms involved in my food. Grocery shopping was a last-minute, unplanned, in-and-out experience for me, and although I could have, I did not carve time out of my schedule to go to a farmers market.

When I moved up here to Eastern Washington, the intention was to find more time for paying attention to everything. Although that hasn't worked out quite according to plan (see well-documented reasons why I still have my California job, and then some), I did start making a concerted effort to eat organic/fair trade/local/small farm stuff. I did not know there was a "locavore pledge" that said pretty much the same thing, only in a different order (obviously):

If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic. If not ORGANIC, then Family farm. If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business. If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Fair Trade.

It was a few months ago that I really started paying attention to my purchases, partially in anticipation of the One Local Summer challenge.

I resolved that as much as possible, only items produced within a 100mi radius of Pullman would find their way into my kitchen. As you can see from the list in the right-hand column of this blog, under the heading "my local food resources," I have a lot of options. But here's an example of the process I went through to find local dairy staples (milk, half & half, butter): try to figure out if there are local dairies (hello, Google!), realize the options are slim, find the blog called Year of Plenty (by a family in Spokane that is consuming only local, used, homegrown, or homemade products) and their discussion about local dairy products, go to the IGA and see how the Darigold/Broadview products are labeled (some say Inland NW, some don't), buy them because I was out of milk and butter, then when I was out of milk and butter the next week I went to Rosauers for my dairy products because I was sure they were produced locally.

That process didn't really take that much time, and now my shopping system is set: I shop for foodstuffs on Saturday mornings. I drive to Moscow (8mi) and get as much as I can from the farmers market. If there are other things I need that are not at the farmers market but I can get slightly outside the "local" radius (say, between here and the Cascades) and/or that are organic, then I walk across the street to the Co-op. On the way out of town, I swing by Rosauers and get the local dairy products. Then I go home and prep my veggies. I don't find that particularly extreme, nor do I find the extra ten seconds necessary to flip over a package and see where it comes from to be particularly extreme or even moderately troublesome.

The troublesome part for me has been switching my pantry over, bit by bit, to local products. For instance, I am going to start making fresh pasta with local flour and eggs. However, I still have some bags of my favorite store-bought pasta (organic Montebello, from Italy) in the cupboard and have to eat through it so it doesn't go to waste. Same with the bulk pack of (organic) chicken stock I still have from a Costco trip, or the family-size box of Grape-Nuts...things like that.

However, over the course of a week I can honestly say that the majority of every meal I have at home comes from local sources. That's something, and I will slowly but surely switch the percentages. I'll talk about all that more in my next post, which will be the "official" OLS post for the week.

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

I didn't realize this until it was just time to send my submission to my regional coordinator for One Local Summer, Laura, but she said in her first email that "I'm really looking forward to seeing what we all come up with now that there is more in season than meat, kale and onions (just kidding)."

Um...ha ha. Look at the meat and the kale (and potatoes) in my meal! I know she was kidding. I also know that I just happen to like meat, kale, onions, and potatoes very much. Very much. Also, it's been pretty darn cold in these parts and at the farmer's market kale, onions, and potatoes are just about it right now. A few more weeks should see more stuff.

So what do we have in this meal of mine (which, being a single person, I had leftovers for a few days)?

YAK BURGER
- ground Yak, from Tamarak Yak of Santa, ID (56mi), via Moscow Food Co-op (8mi).

- breadcrumbs , made from bread from the Co-op. The Co-op uses flour from Shepherd's Grain in their bread. Shepherd's Grain uses wheat from 28 growers all over the Columbia Plateau, which means that the flour in the bread comes from wheat I've probably watched grow in the fields along the roads I drive all the time.

- one egg, from Troyer's in Potlatch, ID (25mi), vi the Co-op.

- topped with American Cheddar from the WSU Creamery here in Pullman, WA (2 mi). The cows themselves are a little further away: 4mi or so. :)

- bun, from the Co-op.

POTATOES AND KALE
- red potatoes, from a box at the Co-op stamped "local"—I don't know exactly where they're from, but Moscow is in Idaho after all (famous potatoes!), so I'm just going to trust that they are indeed local. Usually I get my potatoes from the farmer's market but these I already had in the cupboard.

- kale, from a farmer whose name I do not know, but whose farm is in Moscow (8mi) and I got the kale from the farmer's market. For anyone who goes to the Moscow Farmer's Market, these are the folks who always have the really long table that runs along the side of the building and is full of great stuff. I can't wait until later in the summer because these particular folks have the best freaking heirloom tomatoes ever.

- salt, pepper, oil: not local.

*************

So how was the Yak, you ask? Really, really good. It is very lean, rich, and flavorful. You'll note the lack of condiments on my burger. Typically I'm a ketchup/mustard/mayo person, but that is usually because I am trying to elicit some actual flavor from the burger. I purposefully didn't make any ketchup, mustard, or may to slather on this—first, because I didn't have all the ingredients handy to make "local" condiments, but mostly because I wanted to taste unadulterated yak. It was good. I might get more at some point and make traditional Tibetan momos—dumplings—which feature ground yak.

Labels: foody, one local summer 08

Not much, let me tell you. [click below to embiggen]The three images above represent sheer restraint on my part. I was sharing this crepe with someone and she walked away to talk to someone else right as we got our crepe. I was raised with some sort of manners that say you can't start eating until everyone is sitting there and has their food, so I had a condundrum on my hands. No, actually, I had an awesome-looking strawberry & nutella crepe on my hands. Look at it!

Let me back up a bit. You see, my buddy Michelle was with me at a conference in San Francisco last week. The highlight for her was going to be a panel on "her gal," as I like to call "Margaret Fuller" (that's who Michelle works on, much like Muir is known as "my guy"). Well, I went to that panel too, and I had to leave hafway through because it was not so good due to one fellow running roughshod over the rules of conference presentations and what not (and I was really tired). Michelle stayed to the bitter end, and when we found each other after the panel it became clear that some comfort food was in order.

So we walked around the corner to Crepe & Curry, one of the little to-go eateries in the Embarcadero Center. One side of the place does crepes, the other side does curries, and never the two shall meet. If you're interested, you can read my review on Yelp. From the sweet portion of the menu (savory was saved for another day), we decided that strawberry and nutella was the way to go.

We ordered. It arrived. And then, out of the corner of her eye, Michelle spotted one of the super awesome scholars in the Fuller field and decided she was going to go talk to her.

I sat there with the crepe.

Eventually, I made a little cut, just to see what it all looked like. I contemplated eating some, then thought about that waiting-for-your-friend rule.

I waited. I could see them talking outside...and walking around...and talking some more. Come ON, I thought. There's crepe to be had! So what if this is your one and only chance ever to talk to this relatively frail emeritus professor? Pshaw.

Now, of course I would have done the same thing in her shoes, but I was hungry. Eventually, I just couldn't resist. I ate my half and dutifully left the rest for her.

I wanted to eat the whole damn thing.

Labels: foody

World Grits Festival Begins Today

Do notice the dearth of references to grits + sugar.

[history]

Labels: foody, misc life

It's been a long time since I did some proper food blogging. In fact, I think it's been a long time since I cooked anything particularly decent...part of that whole "holy crap, we're seven weeks into the semester and I have no idea where the time went" thing.

I follow a number of food blogs, and it seems like I bookmark something from at least one of them every day. I was tired of looking at my foody to-do list and decided to do something about it (namely, make one of the recipes I had bookmarked).

This particular photo is of my rendition of the hearty vegetarian barley and lentil soup recipe from Eating Out Loud. Granted, "my rendition" is not all that different from the original—I just messed with the ratios because I like my soups to be more "wet fixins" than "broth with fixins in it."

The original ingredients follow, along with my comments about my woefully unscientific adjustments:
1 tablespoon olive oil [or, a glug or two]
1 1/2 cups chopped onions [I chopped up one big onion]
1 cup chopped peeled carrots [I chopped up half of a small bag of the peeled baby carrots]
1 cup cubed peeled rutabaga [I used two medium rutabagas]
3 large garlic cloves, minced [I dumped in what was left in a jar of minced garlic]
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin [sounds about right]
1 large bay leaf (or 2 small ones) [two small]
10 cups (or more) vegetable broth [I used 10C]
2/3 cup pearl barley [somewhere between 2/3C and 3/4C]
2/3 cup dried lentils [somewhere between 2/3C and 3/4C]
4 cups (packed) coarsely chopped curly-leaf kale [I chopped up the entire big bunch I got at the store. It was pretty hefty.]
salt/pepper to taste [I don't think I used either]

Here's a printer-friendly version of the original recipe. It's quite tasty (and hearty)!

[Much like this trip to the store in September, the checker at the store today was unfamiliar with my friend the rutabaga. Since the checker is also a friend of mine (and it was early in the day), I didn't launch into my "intro to rutabaga" lecture. Sigh. Poor misunderstood Brassica napobrassica.]

Labels: foody

As far as traditional new year's day food goes, I'm strictly a pork-and-sauerkraut person. Not very Italian, I know, but my mother's side of the family is of German descent and I grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch country. So, pork and sauerkraut it is.

I also really love Hoppin' John, though, so I might have that too. Hey! What? There's no rule against lucky lunch AND lucky dinner!

Labels: foody

I did not anticipate the response to the cheese post from a few weeks ago. Who knew so many people would agree with me?

And then in a comment to my oh crap, I'm busy again post, a certain P/H was kind enough to remind me that hey! you were going to tell us about the cheese.

True enough. But look at what an awesome job of it Sara did! Sara loves cheese too. Sara is lucky enough to have several cheese-only shops nearby. Quelle surprise...Sara lives in Wisconsin.

When I lived in California, I took the cheese for granted. I knew I could get any cheese that I wanted at Whole Foods or a specialty shop. But what do I have in Pullman? Remarkably, a Safeway that recently upgraded itself such that it is as nice as the Super Safeways I was used to in California...which is to say certainly not a Whole Foods, but I can walk away with an entirely organic cart full of food if I try hard enough. Along those same lines, the Safeway also has a nice selection of cheese. Nice enough, I should say. Next time I go to Seattle, I'll still go to a cheese shop or a Whole Foods and shop around. But for now my needs are met. It helps that Tillamook has a lot of good products widely distributed in the Pac NW.

What are my needs, exactly? Remarkably basic.
* cheese for sandwiches: extra-sharp cheddar, havarti, muenster
* cheese for baguette toasts: brie, wine-soaked cheddar, havarti w/ herbs or seeds
* cheese for vegetables: gruyère, emmentaler
* cheese for pastas: parmigiano-reggiano, asiago, pecorino romano, fontina, mizithra
* cheese for cheese and cracker plates: mild/med/sharp cheddar, jack, colby, swiss
* cheese for salads: ricotta salata, goat, parmigiano-reggiano, pecorino romano, mozzarella
* cheese for desserts: ricotta, mascarpone
* cheese for omelets: goat, med/sharp cheddar

Labels: foody, misc life

Labels: foody, misc life

There are few things in my life that can't be fixed with a little cake.

Yesterday was a pretty crappy day for me, and it had nothing at all to do with anyone or anything here in Washington. It was all California-related stuff: work, house, a little bank fraud thrown in for good measure. In other words, stuff I really can't do a damn thing about. For a control freak like me, that's hard to deal with. It shuts down my brain. Can't get past it. [At least I'm not trying to take my PhD exams right now, like two dear friends of mine are at this very moment (hi!). Actually, they're doing just fine, and are just about halfway through them. A superlative-laden post about them will come at a later date...I'm still composing it. ]

But back to cake. Today is a cake-loquium. That is, today is the department's grad student org-sponsored colloquium at which time there will be cake. I am in charge of cake today, because I love to bake and I like to be useful.

You want to know who is really useful? Shuna Fish Lydon, that's who. I am so grateful that she puts her recipes online. In January, you may recall that my friends and I ate a ton of food and all of her desserts at Aziza. I've made her cardamon chocolate chunk cookies. She is now part of the brand-spanking-new restaurant, Sens, in the Embarcadero Center in SF, about which she has written lovingly since its inception. I am seriously considering a weekend trip back to the Bay Area in a few weeks, and her desserts will feature prominently in my plans if the trip indeed happens.

But she does not live in my house, or in Eastern Washington, or anywhere closer than sixteen hours away. Thus, I am left to my own devices when it comes time to make cake. And cake I did make: Shuna's yellow cake (which prompted a text message from me to my friend that said something like "holy crap this is the best cake batter I have ever tasted," which is true), devil's food cake, and chocolate frosting.

Shuna, thank you for sharing your recipes. I will bet that this afternoon there will be 40 or 50 people who would also like to thank you for sharing them. I'm not you, of course, but I don't think I did a terribly shabby job with it all. It sure does taste good to me...

Labels: foody, grad school, misc life