Posts under ‘Eat Local Challenge’

For week #9 of the 2011-2012 Dark Days Eat Local Challenge, I made a crown roast of lamb to practice for Easter. As I’ve mentioned, we take turns with holidays and Easter is Mom’s (the vegetarian). If I can pull this off, we’re having this for Easter. If I can’t, we’re going with the old [...]

In my family, we take turns with holidays. Mine is Thanksgiving. Christmas belongs to my sister (she has children). Our tradition includes the seven fish on Christmas Eve and multiple courses of our favorites on Christmas Day. Those courses are: the antipasto of Italian cheeses and cold cut meats, the primo course of fresh ravioli [...]

For week #4 of the 2011-2012 Dark Days Eat Local Challenge, I made turkey bone vegetable soup. Over the past year, I’ve learned about the nutritional value of bone broths, with their chondroitin, glucosamine, and collagen. So I made a stock from the remains of my Thanksgiving turkey. The stock can be used for a [...]

For week #3 of the 2011-2012 Dark Days Eat Local Challenge, I made pulled pork sliders on biscuits. I never heard of a picnic roast before, so I thought I’d get one and try it out. A picnic roast is also called a shoulder roast. Typically, they’d have some skin on and a shank. I [...]

While making Spaghetti Squash Alfredo, I noticed the texture of the spaghetti squash wasn’t unlike grated potatoes and thought perhaps latkes would be an experiment worth pursuing. My dish was loosely based on this latke recipe. Truthfully, it wasn’t wonderful. Two eggs were way too much for half a spaghetti squash so I had to add more [...]

It’s been over a week since Thanksgiving and my refrigerator is still packed. Most of it’s not leftovers from the meal, but more of the extra things I bought  just in case. Just in case something didn’t work out and I’d need a do-over. Just in case I needed options. Just in case I underestimated [...]

Laura over at (not so) Urban Hennery is continuing the Dark Days Eat Local Challenge tradition. The rules are to cook one meal each week featuring SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) ingredients and write about it on your blog. We set our own food zones and exceptions.Weekly recaps by group are posted over at (not [...]

Life is funny. There you are, making your Giambotta, marveling at its resemblance to its first cousin Ratatouille, when along comes Caponata. It seems that the Sicilian version of Caponata introduces something in a brine, like olives or capers. Some are arguing that if it isn’t Sicilian, it isn’t Caponata. I’m reserving judgment until I [...]

In Pixar’s movie, Ratatouille, the food critic is dismayed at being served a peasant dish, ratatouille. But as he tastes this dish, made so well, so lovingly, with the perfect co-mingling of flavors, he experiences a complete transformation. It could happen. Then there’s giambotta, an Italian vegetable stew, and first cousin to ratatouille. I don’t [...]

It was a fairly unexciting food week with most of the greens getting sautéed with garlic scapes and olive oil and stored away for the dark days. However, I did make fried squash blossoms and that’s something you don’t see every day. . I made a batter using: one egg (Woodbury Laid) 2 Tbsp of [...]