Category Archives: Eat Local Challenge

Eat Local Challenge, locavore

Challenge Meal: Pulled Pork Sliders

Leave a comment

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 suppose technically mine was a pork shoulder arm roast.

Since I don’t have a smoker, I found an alternative cooking method: this crock pot pulled pork recipe. I followed it, for the most part, using about half as much pepper, substituting maple syrup for the sugars, and adding some minced garlic.

It spent about nine hours on low in the crock pot which worked out well. The meat was juicy and tender and easily fell apart.

If I were to do it again, I’d leave out the cumin and peppercorn pepper altogether and use more cayenne, more syrup, and way more garlic.

I didn’t make the barbeque sauce described at the end of that recipe, opting for just the drippings, separated from the fat. Kind of like an au jus.

I splurged and used some of the Red Fife wheat I saved for the biscuits, following this biscuit recipe, except with more salt, a little more butter, and a quarter of the milk.

All in all, a tasty little slider. I’m looking forward to trying this again with a different rub.

Sources:

  • pork picnic roast from Laurel Ridge Farm
  • maple syrup from McLaughlin Vineyards
  • Cayenne peppers (crushed), thyme, and garlic from my garden
  • cumin, chili powder, black pepper paprika, salt: not local
  • Red Fife wheat from Curtis Eck near Kent, CT
  • hard spring wheat from Wild Hive
  • butter from Smyth’s Trinity Farm
  • baking powder and salt: not local

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.

challenge, Eat Local Challenge, farms, locavore

Challenge Meal: Spaghetti Squash Latkes

1 Comment

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 flour—quite a bit more. Still, that wasn’t what made it unremarkable. I’m convinced latkes need to be potatoes. There’s something about that potato flavor that’s completely missing with spaghetti squash. It wasn’t bad—just not really good.

Even with spaghetti squash, I still prefer sour cream to apple sauce (or cranberry sauce). However. the experiment wasn’t a total loss. I discovered that sour cream and cranberry sauce go remarkably well together.

Sources;

Note: These challenge posts will be recapped with the other Mid-Atlantic region participants every two weeks, beginning December 11, over at Not Dabbling In Normal by Emily of Tanglewood Farm.

Eat Local Challenge, farms, locavore, recipes

Challenge Meal: Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

1 Comment

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 appetites (ha!).

Surveying my stores, I clearly overdid dairy. I also still have a respectable squash collection. And I had some mushrooms about to enter the use-it-or-lose-it zone. So, there you have it, my first meal for the 2011-2012 Dark Days Eat Local Challenge is Spaghetti Squash Alfredo with cultivated wild mushrooms.

I decided to go with the microwave method of cooking the squash instead of the longer methods of baking or boiling. I cut the squash in half lengthwise, placed it in a baking dish with about a half of an inch of water, and covered it with plastic wrap. I microwaved it for about 10 minutes in total. I used a fork to liberate the squash strands that resemble spaghetti, hence the name.

I made the sauce using this Alfredo sauce recipe. I used Pleasant Valley cheese from Sankow’s Beaver Brook, an aged sheep’s milk cheese, which has a flavor similar to Pecorino Romano. It’s not exactly Parmigiano-Reggiano, but it’s a relatively minor taste adjustment to keep the meal local.

I pan sautéed the mushrooms following Julia Child’s Champignons sautés au beurre recipe. This is my first time using mushrooms in this dish. Initially, I was thinking they’d make a great side dish. At the last moment,  I threw caution to the wind, and added them on top.

Spaghetti squash doesn’t have much flavor of it’s own, so the richness of the Alfredo sauce really brought it to life. It did have a nice mild crunch which is something you don’t usually get with fettuccine. The mushrooms made the flavors interesting, in a good way.

Sources:

For dessert, black raspberry ice cream with whipped cream because I still had a lot of heavy cream (and ice cream) and I wanted to play with my new toy gadget.

What a cool thing! Easy to use and fast too. I was really impressed with this gadget. (No, I’m not affiliated with them!)

Sources

These challenge posts will be recapped with the other Mid-Atlantic region participants every two weeks, beginning December 11, over at Not Dabbling In Normal by Emily of Tanglewood Farm.

 

challenge, Connecticut, Eat Local Challenge, locavore, rules

5th Annual Dark Days Eat Local Challenge

Leave a comment

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 so) Urban Hennery or maybe at Not Dabbling in Normal (I’ll have to get back to you on that).

The challenge starts today and is on until Saturday, March 31st, 2012.

My local food zone is about 100 miles. For a few ingredients, I may reach beyond the local and tap the regional food shed (the rest of New England and upstate NY). My general rule all the time is if it grows in my food shed, I’ll get it in my food shed. If it doesn’t grow here, I’ll get it from the nearest, most responsible source. My specific exceptions are oils, coffee, chocolate, spices, baking ingredients like baking powder, baking soda, and yeast, and tropical and citrus fruits.

I am really looking forward to this year. After all these years of eating locally all the time, finding the food is not the most challenging aspect. There are far more winter farmers markets and open farm stands than there used to be. (I like to think it’s thanks to us!) My biggest challenge is time. My favorite winter meals require hours of slow and low cooking. When that can’t happen, I default to frittatas. In the end, local is local!

After all these years, it is still fun and interesting. I like learning from other folks and their ideas help me avoid repetitive food syndrome. I’m excited about the new people. As people give this a try, they realize that putting together one local meal a week is supremely achievable.

Good luck to all the participants!

If you’re still thinking about it, you have until December 4 to join!