Homegrown Happy Valley

The arrival of tomatoes…the first sign of summer produce!

Tomatoes? The last of the asparagus and strawberries? What did you do with your local food for the Eat Local Challenge this week? Leave a reply and let us know!

HOT ITEMS OF THE WEEK:

• tomatoes!
• strawberries

ON THE MENU:

Day 1

Lasagna enchiladas and fresh greens, early tomatoes and radishes

• 10 lasagna noodles
• 15 oz. ricotta cheese
• 1 cup parmesan
• 2 cups mozzarella (Meyer Dairy)
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp olive oil
• fresh basil (Village Acres)

In a perfect green world, we’d all have the time, space, and skills to maintain a vegetable garden, a satisfying and sustainable way to get your produce. I always thought I didn’t have a big enough yard for a vegetable garden, but at least I have one. What about people living in urban areas or those in apartments or townhouses?  When there’s no dirt to dig in, where do you turn?

Many towns and cities across the country now have community gardens (Penn State’s Sustainable Agriculture Club started one this year on campus)–space set aside for individuals to sow and grow their own mini-bounty. But due to space constraints, getting a spot in a community garden can be difficult.  If you didn’t make the cut, what are your options?  Yardsharing!

The largest environmental film festival in North America is making its State College debut. ClearWater Conservancy and Appalachian Outdoors are teaming up to bring the “Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival” to Mount Nittany Middle School 7 p.m. June 25th.

State College is one of 90 communities nationwide hosting the festival tour, which aims to inspire local activism. One of the films, “Division Street,” takes a breathtaking look at the wildlife corridors that are attempting to restore a wilderness invaded by cars and roads. (Get ready for grizzly encounters!) The film’s theme will be familiar to many locals–ClearWater Conservancy is attempting to maintain and protect a wildlife corridor in Centre County.

Rain, rain, go away…

Even with all of the gray days, it’s easy to get excited about the local food scene as more and more vegetables are showing up in our CSA boxes and at the markets.

What did you do with your local food for the Eat Local Challenge this week? Leave a reply and let us know!

HOT ITEMS OF THE WEEK:

• asparagus (Sadly, I think the end is near for this star veggie. However, we are on the cusp of maximum bounty for so many other items!)
• strawberries

Make room in your produce bag for next week’s Boalsburg Farmers’ Market. Tuesday, June 23rd marks the second annual Art at the Market, which means you’ll be ogling more than food.

What could be better than browsing for fresh food, while admiring–and maybe even buying–paintings, jewelry, photography and fine crafts by fellow locals? The artists will be there to discuss and demonstrate their work and some will even be painting scenes from the market.

Skip the tie this year, your dad doesn’t really want one. If you’re still searching for a gift for that special guy we have a few fun local alternatives.

BIKER DAD

Take your dad to the Lake Raystown area for some fantastic mountain biking on the brand new 30+ mile single track trail system. Make it a family event and hit the lake for a picnic lunch after sweating it out on the roller coaster trails. Before heading out to the trails, make sure dad has all the biking equipment he needs.

Some comfort food—soup, breakfast for dinner, and spaghetti and meatballs—as we yearn for the sun to come back on a regular basis. What did you do with your local food for the Eat Local Challenge this week? Leave a reply and let us know!

HOT ITEMS OF THE WEEK:

• asparagus
• strawberries
• zucchini makes its first appearance

ON THE MENU:

Day 1

Ten Minute Asparagus and Brown Rice Recipe

The other day my 4-year-old son spotted a rabbit in our backyard and asked for a carrot to feed it.

“We don’t have any,” I told him.

“Just make one,” he said, using that “duh, mom” inflection common in 4-year-old speak.

Clearly he has a lot to learn about food.

Local is the new black. It used to be brown, then pink, but now it’s definitely local, especially when it’s green. If you want to buy local, yet another organization has popped up to help keep the dollars we spend here in our own backyard.

Local Bounty is a user-generated directory that allows consumers to find local goods—everything from salad greens to the bowls that hold them—then rate and review the products, services and businesses. The site is scheduled to launch right before Arts Fest in July.

As a child, I was a big fan of the Strawberry Shortcake doll. I would dream up different ways to serve strawberries to my Barbies and G.I. Joes with my Berry Bake Shoppe. Now that the first berry of the summer has arrived, I’m once again dreaming of strawberry concoctions. Fortunately my recipes have matured a bit.

Week Two marks the beginning of strawberry season. How will you use strawberries, and how are you doing on your personal Eat Local Challenge? Leave a reply and let us know (you can now opt to be e-mailed with follow up comments!)