First, there was beef tenderloin from Stuarts Family Farm and broccoli from Waldingfield Farm (courtesy of the freezer).

Then there were ribeyes from Stuarts Family Farm, with potatoes from Riverbank Farm and sauteéd fresh spinach from Starlite Farm.

But the best was the macaroni and meatball meal. I’d been meaning to make a local version of my Sunday meatballs and gravy since the challenge began, and finally, I did.

I made the meatballs using ground beef from Stuarts Family Farm dried parsley and basil from my garden, and eggs from Four Mile River Farm. I did use Progresso bread crumbs and imported Parmigiano Reggiano (mea culpa). I’ll save trying to reformulate the breadcrumbs with local ingredients for another challenge.

I made the gravy using my home canned tomatoes (originally plums from Don Taylor’s farm), paste I made from reconstituting dried tomatoes (originally from Waldingfield Farm), pork chops and sweet sausages from Ox Hollow Farm, thyme from my garden, and the meatballs.

The salad was from a red leaf lettuce bouquet from Two Guys from Woodbridge. The bread was from Wave Hill Breads (where else). Ziti were thanks to the folks at Barilla. And the wine was from Vista Riposa from McLaughlin Vineyards.

And the nephew is local too.

One meal was a veal chop (from Beaver Brook), pan fried potatoes (from Riverbank Farm), and sauteéd spinach (from Starlite Farm). I’m happy, happy happy to be getting fresh greens at this time of the year.

Another meal was lentil soup. I usually mix in pasta or rice, but this time I used whole wheat berries (from Wild Hive Farm). They’re hard to differentiate from the lentils in the picture, even zooming in on the full res image, but if you look closely, you can see them. They lend a nutty flavor to the soup which is, well, different. The carrots and celeriac are from Riverbank Farm. The garlic is from Bluestone Farm. Here’s the best part: there are two kinds of tomatoes. The chunks you see are from Don Taylor’s farm (in Danbury) that I pressure canned in October. This was the first jar I opened (from the first time I canned) and I am proud to tell you that I lived and that the tomatoes were tasty. The other kind of tomato was one of the heirlooms from Waldingfield Farm that I dried in the dehydrator. For this recipe, I crunched it up, whizzed it a bit in the spice grinder and stirred a few teaspoons of the powder into the soup for loft. Lentil soup: still a comfort food.

My canned tomatoes:

And yet another meal was Coriander and Cumin rubbed pork chops (from Ox Hollow Farm) and cauliflower (from the freezer—not labeled, but definitely local). I defrosted the cauliflower then stir-fried it in the yummies left over in the skillet from the pork chops.

• pancakes, made with flour from Wild Hive Farm and Micro Mill, an egg from Ox Hollow Farm, milk from Stone Wall Dairy, and butter from Trinity Farm. (Baking powder and salt: origins unknown)
• bacon from Ox Hollow Farm
• maple syrup from Bluestone Farm (vintage 2008)

And then we repent…

• Pork chops from Ox Hollow Farm
• Cortland apple and apple cider from Silverman’s Farm
• acorn squash from Waldingfield Farm
• shallots and red pepper from Cherry Grove in Newtown
• garlic and maple syrup from Bluestone Farm
• rosemary from the window sill
• dried sage from our garden last summer
• olive oil from Italy
• dark rum from Jamaica

The hot pepper from Cherry Grove was this cayenne pepper I dried:

I crushed it with my own fingers.

If you do that too, do not rub your eyes, even if you rinsed your hands. I speak from experience.

Another dish I made this week was tandoori chicken with chickpea curry and basmati rice. Most of the ingredients were from away out there (almost sounded like a kiddie pool with all the shouts of Marco Polo) but I really wanted something different. Nonetheless, the chicken did come from Ox Hollow Farm,  the yogurt from Trinity in Enfield, the garlic from Bluestone Farm, and the onion from Cherry Grove. Additionally, the paprika came from Amy LeBlanc’s Whitehill Farm in East Wilton, Maine. (I came upon Amy and her paprika by attending a workshop of hers at the NOFA conference over the summer.)

Community query

I’m about out of usable onions. I will soon need more garlic. Anyone know anyone local who’s still selling these?

Lentil Soup

• Lentils from out there (bulk, organic, from New Morning Natural Foods)
• Carrots from Riverbank Farm
• Potatoes from Waldingfield Farm
• Onion from Cherry Grove Farm in Newtown
• Bread from Wave Hill Breads
• Butter from Smyth’s Trinity Farm in Enfield
• UPDATE: Oooops, forgot to mention bacon from Ox Hollow Farm

Ribeye Steak

• Ribeye from Stuarts Family Farm
• Potato from Riverbank Farm
• Kale from the freezer, originally from Waldingfield Farm

Salad

• Oak leaf lettuce from Two Guys in Woodbridge
• Hard boiled eggs from Ox Hollow Farm
• sliced leftover ribeye from Stuarts Family Farm
• My Northeast Autumn salad dressing

I don’t really care for salad–well, lettuce to be precise. It’s a summer food and even in the summer, it’s not my favorite. I like green vegetables that you can cook (like escarole, kale, Swiss chard). But, at this point of the year, I am so jonesin’ for fresh greens that I’m willing to eat a cold meal!

• pan seared pork chops, from Ox Hollow Farm
• baked acorn squash, from Waldingfield Farm, mashed with butter (from Smyth’s Trinity in Enfield) and maple syrup (from Bluestone Farm), cinnamon from out there somewhere
• salad of oak leaf lettuce (from Two Guys from Woodbridge) and my Northeast Autumn salad dressing

Ox Hollow and Two Guys are at the Wholesome Wave market in Fairfield every Saturday. And if you’re looking for something special for your Valentine, Lisa of Goatboy Soap has some gift sets with adorable heart shaped bars.

Sankows offers a few different frozen prepared dishes. They’re vendors at both the Wooster Square Marketand the Wholesome Wave market.

• the fettuccine was homemade using soft spring wheat (from Wild Hive Farm), an egg (from Ox Hollow Farm) and olive oil and salt from out there.
• the dried lentils came from the organic bulk container at the natural foods store (not local) and were cooked with carrots and celeriac (from Riverbank Farm) and local garlic.
• the shaved sheep cheese is from Sankow’s Beaver Brook.

Wild, flowing, fettuccine:

Truth be known, soft spring wheat isn’t the best for pasta; it’s good for cakes and cookies. I do have red hard winter wheat, but only the whole wheat variety, which is not my favorite pasta flavor. What I really like is semolina pasta but I do not have a local source for durum wheat. So, soft spring wheat pasta it is…not bad, just not world class.

This week’s local meal was simple and healthy:

• Veal chop (from Sankow’s Beaver Brook)
• Pan fried carola potatoes (from Riverbank Farm)
• Steamed broccoli (from the freezer from Waldingfield Farm) with butter (from Trinity Farm)
• Canola oil, salt, and pepper from out there.

Y’know, it never gets the attention it deserves in these challenges, but breakfast was oatmeal (from Wild Hive Farm) drizzed with honey (from the apiary of Jerry Soltisiak in Easton, CT) with raw milk from Foxfire Farm.

Beginning with last Sunday (dinner got to the table too late to post):

• Roasted chicken (from Ox Hollow Farm) with sage, rosemary, and thyme (from our own garden), white wine from McLaughlin Vineyards, olive oil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper from out there.
• Roasted root vegetables: parsnips, carrots, and celeriac (from Riverbank Farm) and purple potatoes (from Waldingfield Farm).

Wednesday was ratatouille with smoked sausages. The ratatouille was made and frozen in the late summer/early fall when eggplant and zucchini were plentiful. The freezer bag says “Entirely Local Except Olive Oil.” Vegetables are predominantly from Waldingfield Farm. The sausages were leftover from last week. I used this ratatouille recipe at Cooking for Engineers — without the mushrooms. (I love the recipes on this site.)

Sorry about the condition of the picture…

Saturday was a pan seared veal chop with miatake mushrooms (previously dried), both from Sankow’s Beaver Brook and sauteed broccoli rabe greens (from the freezer, originally from Waldingfield Farm).

Very happy food week around these parts. (Happy if you like snow too.)