Homegrown Happy Valley

Greetings from British Columbia (Vancouver and Whistler to be exact), where I’m bombarded by advertisements for local produce. So far, we’ve escaped the supermarket, getting all of our fruit and veggies from two farmer’s markets. But there’s just two meat vendors (one bison, one beef) and no dairy vendors.

As I mentioned last week, it’s exciting to see what local products are available in different regions. Yet, as great as it is to be on vacation, I look forward to next week when I can purchase all of my dairy, meat, and produce from local vendors in Central Pennsylvania.

One last note: Don’t forget to come to the State Theatre on Saturday at 4 p.m. for a showing of Food Inc. followed by a great discussion about sustainability in our backyard.

HOT ITEMS OF THE WEEK:

• peaches
• raspberries
• corn
• tomatoes

ON THE MENU:

Day 1

Black Bean and Kale enchiladas with fresh tomatoes and watermelon.

Saute one large onion, two green peppers, kale and fresh garlic in olive oil. Grate Colby cheese (Katie used Spring Bank) over the warm mixture and spoon mixture into whole wheat tortillas and place seam down in casserole dish. Cover with enchilada sauce and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with a little more cheese.

Katie served this with fresh sliced tomatoes and watermelon.

Day 2

Roasted vegetables on a panini with Village Acres eggs and cheese, cucumber salad.

Heat oven to 450. Oil large roasting pan with olive oil. Combine whatever vegetables that you’d like (I used eggplant, peppers, onions, and zucchini) with a bit more olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast the veggies until they are tender and slightly browned (it took about 30 minutes for me).

Top fresh bread (I used Gemelli’s Ciabatta) with the vegetables and add some cheese and scrambled eggs if you wish. Place other half of bread on top of the mixture, broil it in the oven for a few minutes with a pan or brick covered in foil until it looks like the cheese is melting.  Cut into pieces and serve. This dish is also good prepared ahead of time - just cover the sandwiches in a slightly damp towel so that the bread doesn’t dry out - put it in the fridge and broil it when you are ready later that day/evening.

Day 3

Pasta with vegetables.

Saute eggplant, green peppers, kale, onions, zucchini, squash, garlic and three large tomatoes in olive oil (most of Katie’s vegetables were from Village Acres Farm). Let vegetables soften a bit (7 to 10 minutes) and add about 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Place the mixture on low and cover with lid, let simmer down for 10 more minutes.

When vegetables are done, Katie poured over whole wheat pasta. Sounds like these veggies would literally melt in your mouth!

Day 4

Ratatoullie by Julia Child (via Bon Appétit)

I usually use the Moosewood Cookbook version of this recipe, but decided to give this one a try. I think I’ll have to make both recipes sometime and do a “taste-off” for my family - I can’t decide which recipe I like better!

Day 5

Simple Roast chicken, tomatoes and corn roasted on the grill.

Day 6

Corn and Zucchini Bisque with salad greens.

This soup leaves me wishing that corn and zucchini season lasted all year long. So good.

Day 7

Macaroni and local cheese with trees.

I took this recipe and used a mixture of local Spring Bank Acres cheese along with some broccoli that I got at the Hill’s Plaza market.

APPETIZER OF THE WEEK:

Fresh, local baguette dipped in rosemary balsamic reduction and a bit of olive oil with roasted local tomatoes on top. All items purchased from the Whistler Farmers Market (except the olive oil).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Eat Local Challenge, 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.