This week’s Dark Days Eat Local Challenge meal was all about recycling (other people’s recipes, that is)!

I fell in love with the picture of Local Kitchen’s pizza crust. I’ve been looking for a good pizza dough recipe, the kind that has so much flavor people say, “the crust is the best part!” So, there I was, wishing I could taste that picture when I realized I had the time to make it. So spur of the moment, I decided to go for it.

It was so good, I ate a whole pie by myself (the recipe makes two pies). It was so good, I made it again as an appetizer for my New Year’s Day dinner. My guests raved and raved about it. Thank you Local Kitchen!

For the main course, I made Zoe’s husband’s chili again, determined to finish refining the recipe to my tastes and ingredient preferences. I think I’ve got it now and believe I have made enough of a mark on it to call it my own and add the chocolate chili recipe to my collection.

So, my New Year’s Day meal is my DDELC local meal of the week.

LocalKitchen’s Pizza (using this dough recipe)

This recipe is called Quick(er) Whole Wheat Pizza dough and takes about two hours to make. (Three for me, but I tend to go slow on the first time trying anything).

This was the first pizza I made for myself, not the DDELC pizza I made for guests. I took a picture of mine and forgot to get the camera out when I served theirs. So pretend the Kalamata olives aren’t there. Otherwise, the remaining ingredients are identical.

• whole wheat bread flour and white all-purpose flour from Wild Hive
• water from my well
• tomato puree from Don Taylor Farms, Danbury, CT (from the Late Bloomers 2009 freezer collection)
• Pleasant Valley (sheep) Cheese from Sankow’s Beaver Brook
• dried oregano from my 2009 garden
• salt, yeast, shredded mozzarella, and olive oil from away. (This is actually funny—since this was a spur of the moment thing, I didn’t have a good local melting cheese available but had this package of pre-shredded cheese in my freezer from “before,” which is a bit over two years. It wasn’t bad at all—sort of makes the case for those unpronounceable preservatives. /snark)

Chocolate Chili (using this recipe)

If you’ve never had chocolate chili before, it’s definitely worth a try. (No, you cannot taste the chocolate as a distinct flavor. It just adds a depth that chili appreciates.)

• bacon from Greyledge Farm
• ground beef from Stuarts Family Farm
• onions from Shenandoah, Easton, CT
• garlic from Holbrook Farm
• red wine: Private Reserve Red from Cascade Mountain Winery & Restaurant
• dried cayenne pepper flakes (and seeds) from Holbrook Farm (dried by me)
• diced stewed tomatoes from Vaszauskas Farm, Middlebury, CT (from the Late Bloomers 2008 canning collection)
• tomato puree from Don Taylor Farms, Danbury, CT (from the Late Bloomers 2008 canning collection)
• pure maple syrup from the Sisters at Bluestone Farm
• black beans from Cayuga Pure Organics
• chili powder, cumin, raw cacao powder, salt, and pepper from away

Corn Muffins (using this recipe)

• corn meal and all-purpose flour from Wild Hive
• raw milk from Stone Wall Dairy, Kent, CT
• honey from Hannon (via Maple Bank Farm)
• egg from J&L Eggery, Southbury, CT (via New Morning Natural Foods)
• bacon fat from the Greyledge Farm bacon used in the chili recipe.
• salt and baking powder from away

Dessert

• ice cream, brought in from away
• floats with Foxon Park cream soda or root beer
• popcorn from Maple Bank Farm

The wine was Hopkins Vineyard‘s Cabernet Franc and the beer was Berkshire Brewing Company‘s Cabin Fever.

I really enjoyed bringing in the New Year like this.