One Local Summer Week 1: Northeast

Monday, June 08, 2009

       
We are off to a great start here in the Northeast!

Ami from “Writing: My Life” is a fellow Marylander and had the same idea I did. Perhaps uncreative but non uninspired, we both highlighted farm fresh eggs from the farmer’s market. She featured local asparagus, spring onions, and garlic in a beautiful omelet, whereas I served them scrambled with local cheese, bread and strawberries. Fresh eggs make such a difference and as long as they’re available I won’t go back to supermarket eggs.

Melissa from “Philadelphia Home Gardening Examiner” also went the breakfast route and served mild french breakfast radishes with garden gress on a buttered baguette, finished with celtic sea salt.

Mama Urchin served lamb sausage with local salad and helpfully provides the mileage for each ingredient. Her salad included cheese, lettuce, radishes, eggs and bacon.

Dawn made a fabulous weeknight meal of quesadillas with Shellbark Hollow goat cheese and organic scallions. She added roasted beets, turnips, and sauteed swiss chard on the side. Sounds delicious!

Sandra from Lancaster County started simple with a summery grilled chicken salad made from CSA goodies and various markets. She is also getting her children involved in the challenge!

Chester County Dwell chose a recipe from Joy the Baker and made a crustless spinach and mushroom quiche. Seems like everybody is enjoying eggs and for good reason. CCDwell used eggs and greens straight from her own garden! That’s 0 food mileage for anyone who’s counting.

Melissa started with delicious oyster mushrooms and local turkey breast cooked in her toaster oven. Glad I’m not the only one who uses a toaster oven as opposed to a conventional oven. She finished it with homemade pesto with basil from her back deck and local salad greens.

I’m sure everyone has seen Nicole’s entry from Farm to Philly featuring mouthwatering duck breast, Hakurei turnips, and beet greens. Not surprisingly, she came up with another meal of stuffed, baked trout caught from a local creek.

In other Philly and PA meals, Erin at Veggicurious cooked up tempeh in a whiskey marinade which she generously included for everyone to enjoy.  She served the tempeh with wilted greens and sweet potatoes.

Tina and Marian of Our Philly CSA each created a meal for the challenge. Tina cooked up both chicken and lamb with a white wine-rosemary pan sauce, a beet salad with sauteed greens, beets and local chevre, sauteed dandelion greens and sweet potatoes.  Marian also used local chevre in her cheeseburgers.  She also made beet chips from scratch and sauteed dandelion greens.

Rae posted pictures of her meal which included grass-fed steak, steamed broccoli, sauteed spring green onions and mushrooms and asiago bread from a local bakery.  She also had strawberries for dessert served with cream and fresh-baked shortbread.

Regina also had strawberries for dessert, fresh-picked.  To start off with, she recounted her adventures of finding local seafood which resulted in pan-fried Rainbow Trout, sauteed baby turnips nestled in their greens (what a great description) and arugula salad. 

Moving north, our South Jersey Locavore Robin also made cheeseburgers.  She served hers with green peas braised with lettuce and scallions.

Next in New York, Linda at Wit’s End made hot dogs, a spinach salad with strawberries, bacon, spring onions and feta as well as garlic-parsley smashed potatoes (with homegrown herbs).  She also served some CascaZilla ale.  Linda included links for more information about several of her local ingredients. 

Lexi, the Lighthearted Locavore, went in a different direction than a lot of our other participants.  She cooked up an Asparagus Cheese Soup with local cheese, milk and asparagus. 

Erica, at The Brave Potato, gives a great explanation of her food philosophy along with great photos and details about her meal.  She also made pan-fried fresh trout and served hers with sauteed nettles and ramp greens and mashed sunchokes with fried ramps.  (And by the way, the roof-gardening service Erica suggests would be a great one for urban areas!)

Meghan, at Liberty on 10th Street, created an egg dish with local spinach, cheddar and milk cooked together in a lasagna casserole dish for a crowd.

Last but not least, Kristin, the Brooklyn Forager, also went with eggs.  She made a Chard and Chevre frittata accompanied by greenhouse tomatoes and a green salad with homegrown lettuce and herbs and Finger Lakes region wine.