Homegrown Happy Valley

Each Monday during the Eat Local Challenge we’ll post “7 Days of Local Eating.” This is a compilation of what the three of us at Homegrown Happy Valley do with the food that’s available at the farmer’s markets and in our CSA boxes each week (Katie and I belong to Village Acres CSA; Michele belongs to Tait Farm.) We’ll try to note the source of the food where possible, but since we sometimes lose track, we’ll denote those food items as simply “local.” We’ll also include a tip or special note for each week (and we’d love to hear from you in the “Leave a Reply” box below for your own tips and recipes!)

Many of our recipes and meals are based on classics. For example, we will be revisiting frittatas, pizzas, and quesadillas a lot over the summer. We plan to have a mix of classics for beginning and time-pressed locavores and more ambitious recipes for those who want to experiment.

You’ll notice that this week we have three recipes from Cuizoo.com. Not only does the author of Cuizoo (Kristin Camplese) focus on local foods, she herself is a “local!” I’ve been lucky enough to be eating her food for almost ten years, and I can tell you that every recipe she creates is an absolute winner. We are excited to have Kristin stop by Homegrown Happy Valley later this summer as a guest blogger. Until then, be sure to check out her recipes that we link to from here and take some time to explore her useful (and beautiful) web site.

Ok, enough talk for now, let’s get down to business!

Hot items of the week:

• asparagus
• salad greens
• spinach, other greens

On the menu:

Day 1: Black bean quesadillas with swiss chard and kohlrabi greens, salad with radishes and homemade dressing (all produce from this evening from Village Acres)

• Quesadilla method: Heat tortillas on a skillet. Over half of the tortilla, add sauteed swiss chard and kohlrabi greens, black beans, and shredded cheese. Close the tortilla and cook until one side is lightly browned. Flip over and cook until other side is lightly browned and cheese is melted.
• Simply Recipes Swiss Chard
• Cuizoo’s Balsamic Vinaigrette

Day 2: Spinach and asparagus frittata, salad w/homemade dressing (recipe above), olive bread from Gemelli Bakery

• Michael Chiarello’s Zucchini Frittata (I substituted asparagus and spinach from Village Acres for the zucchini; eggs also from Village Acres)

Day 3: Pasta salad and Way Fruit Farm applesauce

• Cuizoo’s Spring Pasta Salad with Asparagus and Spinach (asparagus, green onions, and spinach from Village Acres)

Day 4: Homegrown Happy Valley eats dinner together: roasted chicken with rhubarb chutney, asparagus casserole, Gemelli bread, salad w/homemade dressing (recipe above), Otto’s beer, peach and blackberry pies from the State College Farmer’s Market with whipped cream made from Meyer’s Dairy cream

• Epicurious Simple Roast Chicken (chickens from Village Acres Farm)
• Epicurious Rhubarb Chutney (I substituted frozen raspberries from last season for the currants; rhubarb from Village Acres)
• Asparagus Casserole (recipe from Louise Knott - maternal grandmother of Katie O’Hara-Krebs):
  • One loaf sourdough bread (Gemelli’s is best)
  • Two cups cheese (Katie used Spring Bank Acres Wood Smoked Cheddar)
  • 1 lb. asparagus from Village Acres
  • Olive oil (Village Acres variety)
  • White onions or scallions
  • Kosher salt
  • Pepper
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice sourdough loaf in thin slices (enough to cover the bottom of your casserole dish). Brush with olive oil and toast on both sides for about 8 minutes, turning every two. Cut asparagus and white onions, coat with olive oil and kosher salt. Roast in casserole dish for 15 minutes or until asparagus is nearly tender. Line the pan with toasted sourdough. Sprinkle the toast with one cup of cheese and place asparagus and onions on top. Top asparagus with leftover cheese and sprinkle with pepper. Roast all together in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy!

Day 5: Grilled steaks, roasted veggies and beans on the grill, mixed green salad

• Delmonico steaks (rubbed with salt & pepper) from Blue Rooster Farm
• Onions, asparagus and garbanzo beans (garlic, olive oil and salt) roasted on the grill
• Mixed green salad with radishes and vinaigrette

Day 6: Asparagus and Caramelized onion pizza, local salad greens w/homemade dressing

• Cuizoo’s Grilled Pizza with Asparagus and Caramelized Onions

Day 7: Burgers, field greens, roasted asparagus, rhubarb crisp for dessert

• Ground beef patties from Over the Moon
• Tait field greens tossed with Tait Raspberry Vinaigrette
• Tait asparagus roasted with olive oil and sea salt
• Rhubarb Crisp recipe from Seasons of Central Pennsylvania—A Cookbook By Anne Quinn Corr (permission to post granted by Anne Quinn Corr)
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Butter or spray an 8-inch-square baking pan.
  • Mix 1 cup oats, ½ cup flour (Michele used whole wheat), and 1-cup brown sugar together and cut in ½ cup butter until mixture is uniformly crumbly.
  • Place half the crumb mixture in the pan.
  • Prepare rhubarb mixture by dicing 3 cups rhubarb and mixing with ½ cup sugar, 1-teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and 1-tablespoon water.
  • Place rhubarb mixture on top of crumb mixture, then sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.
  • Bake for 45 minutes. (Michele tops with homemade whip cream made with cream from Meyer Dairy.)

Tip of the week: Getting your Kid to Eat His Greens

Sauteed greens on their own? Not so interested. Greens and cheese? Now we’re talking (at least for this week anyway). Mix fresh or sauteed greens in eggs with some cheese or mix with beans and cheese in a quesadilla. This has been a successful tactic for getting our almost five year old to take a cue from Popeye.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 10:20 pm and is filed under Eat Local Challenge, Events, Farm, Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.