I’m a little behind in my Dark Days Eat Local Challenge posts. It’s currently week 8, nearly 9, and my last post was week 5! Still, it’s local almost all the time here—easily 80-90% on a daily basis. Unfortunately, it’s come down to choosing between doing local vs. writing about local lately. Here’s to hoping I can wrestle the schedule monsters going forward.
For week #8 of the 2011-2012 Dark Days Eat Local Challenge, I made a beef short rib ragù. I loosely based my recipe on this recipe, with some local substitutions and a couple of additions. Also, this recipe serves the ribs, while I pull the meat from the bones and return it to the ragù. I served it over homemade fettuccine noodles.
This was my first time using beef from Apple Ridge Farm, a small farm in Ridgefield, CT. They were highly recommended by Jacqueline, the manager at Holbrook Farm, where they carry Apple Ridge beef. The beef was well-deserving of Jacqueline’s praise.
Food sources:
- beef short ribs from Apple Ridge Farm
- lard for searing made by Butcher’s Best Market from Cabbage Hill Farm pork
- carrots and celeriac from Riverbank Farm
- onions Holbrook Farm
- bay leaves from a NY farm
- garlic grown here
- red wine, Twisted Red from Sunset Meadows Vineyards
- turkey bone broth, homemade here from a Quattro Farm bird
- roasted plum tomatoes from March Farm
- hard red spring wheat flour from Wild Hive Farm
- eggs from Greyledge Farm
Note: These challenge posts will be recapped with the other Mid-Atlantic region participants every two weeks, over at Not Dabbling In Normal by Emily of Tanglewood Farm.