Homegrown Happy Valley

Guest blogger Reenie Kuhlman is co-founder of GoodPR, Inc., a communications consulting agency that helps businesses, organizations and people whose mission is to do something good for the world.  Reenie, a mother of two and a lover of all things local, details her experience planning an eco-friendly tailgate with food from Pittsburgh (her hometown) and State College (her favorite tailgating locale).

Time to trade the flip-flips and t-shirts for booties and sweatshirts—make those Nittany Lion sweatshirts. The best part about this weather is the electrified feeling in the air. In Happy Valley you can actually smell the leaves falling from the trees. And that means only one thing: Penn State football. 

To kick off the season for Homegrown Happy Valley readers, I’ve put together a guide to the blue, white and green tailgate, in which everything from food to trash is dealt with in a way that doesn’t hurt—and may even help—the beautiful land that surrounds Beaver Stadium. With thousands set to descend on that area, it’s a chance to make a big impact with some small changes.

I’m not a professional “greenie,” although my friends do like to call me “GReenie,” a name bestowed upon me partially out of love but mostly out of a good ribbing at my persistence about certain things in the eco-sphere.  Like many new parents – which you often hear is the entrée into living a more natural, less polluted life – I’m overwhelmed by all of the garbage.  Weekly, I actually get excited when we only put one can on the curb – an impressive feat when you’re boarding two little ones.

With little time and big ambitions, I announced to my circle of hardcore, tailgating friends that this season’s inaugural tailgate would have an eco-friendly flourish.  They laughed at me. “Do you plan to party by yourself?” one friend asked. Another actually told me she would not participate, but would set up her own “old school” tailgate next to me so she could watch me falter.  Now that’s support!

Here’s the thing.  I don’t think you have to give anything up. As a native of Pennsylvania, I recognize that we have many great resources available to us—including great local food sources and new recycling laws – that can help us be a bit more responsible toward Mother Earth.

I’ll be back next week to report on how we did this weekend. Until then, here are some ideas:

The Food

An early-fall Central Pennsylvania farmer’s market will put any grocery store to shame. You don’t need to look too far to find hearty tomatoes, plump peppers in a rainbow of colors, cabbage and green beans, and the season’s first apples. If you’re in town for tailgating, keep in step with the harvest of the season and support your local farmers. Missed the Friday market? Check out the wonderful Amish Farmer’s Market at Hills Plaza on South Atherton.

For this weekend’s tailgate menu, inspiration comes from the ingredient that is most fruitful in my life right now: the tomato. My kitchen table is filled with upside down tomatoes in ripening mode. To complement my homegrown tomatoes, I visited the Pittsburgh Citiparks Farmers’ Market in Bloomfield to stock up on other vegetables, including some beautiful green onions, cucumbers, and red peppers. I also picked up fresh eggs from Seibel’s Family Farms in Clinton, PA. But the most exciting find came from a local Mediterranean bakery, PitaLand, which I stumbled upon while my daughter and I were grazing for snacks.

So, with the tomato as my muse, here’s a down and dirty menu I’ve whipped up for a breakfast tailgate:

• Homemade tomato Bloody Mary’s, recipe compliments of Homegrown Happy Valley, with cucumber and celery garnish.
• Grilled breakfast pita sandwiches with fresh pitas from PitaLand, farm fresh eggs from Seibel’s Family Farm and a choice of goat or feta cheese, basil and fresh tomatoes and onions. (see recipe at end of post)
• Organic mac and cheese “cupcakes” with butternut squash (see recipe at the end of post)
• Fresh fruit salad with a mix of some organic blueberries and strawberries and apples from Simmons Farm in McMurray, PA.

The beer

Of course no tailgate would be complete without the central ingredient: beer.  At first, I was excited to visit local bottle shops to pick up some locally brewed or organic treats.  However, I was quickly reminded of Penn State’s new ban on bottles in the grass lots. Local breweries solve that problem.  Although kegs are also banned, Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, Otto’s Pub & Brewery in State College, and Elk Creek Café + Aleworks in Millheim  offer 64 ounce growlers.  Not only are these growlers extremely portable, they allow you to sample a few of the brewery’s tasty treats, including some organic and in-season brews.

The grill

If bringing a grill, propane is recommended as it’s petroleum-based and burns cleaner than charcoal or wood fires.

The garbage

When Penn Staters get together, they create a lot of school spirit. In the process they create a trash-strewn scene straight out of WALL-E. But there’s nothing fictional about our nation’s garbage problem. In fact, there’s a swirling mass of garbage in the Pacific Ocean called the great Pacific trash vortex.  This massive continent is composed of plastic bags, plastic bottles, cigarette butts and other litter that’s washed up in local water systems that eventually dump into oceans.  (You can learn more about this at Planet Green.)  Here’s how to keep it clean this weekend:

Recyclables. Collect the blue bag for cans and bottles that will be picked up by Penn State waste management.  To be safe, bring a few blue bags from your local grocer in case you miss a handout or can’t find a volunteer.

Compostables.  If you compost like me, bring a small container with a lid (we’re using pickling buckets) to dispose of vegetables, fruits, napkins, etc.  If you are lucky enough to have a composting friend in State College, give it to them. Or take it back home: if you can keep the lid sealed, you won’t stink up your vehicle.

Trash. Bring a bio-degradable garbage bag for regular trash; Penn State waste management will also collect this.

The dishes

Nobody wants to eat off the ground—especially in a cow pasture! And who wants to drive back home with dirty dishes?  Thus, we’ve stumbled into the not very eco-friendly part of this post.  After much research, my tailgating crew has settled on new recyclable Bare cups from Solo (only available in test markets at this time), recyclable and compostable napkins from Marcal, compostable plates from Chinet and some corn starch cutlery from Whole Foods.

We were a bit confused after we got home with the Chinet and looked at it more closely.  It’s clearly labeled “safe for home compost systems” on the front of the package.  However, the back of the package says only compostable by industrial systems.  I checked this with green living expert Sara Snow, who said that Chinet can no longer market its products as home compostable.  However, Sara said that she does compost these paper plates when she uses them, following the simple rule that if it’s a paper product that doesn’t have plastic or wax backing, you can shred or rip up the plate into pieces and put it in a compost pile.  With all composting, the rule applies that you want your pile to be as wet as a damp sponge.  If it’s wetter than that, you have to add more “brown” matter.    Thank you Sara!

The Music

No tailgate would be complete without some tunes playing in the background.  I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen a crank radio in a long time – and this is the eco-friendly option presented by TreeHugger.com.  After looking around, it looks like the best bet for a good sound system that doesn’t put too much of a drain on the environment is the iPod dock.  Many of the models available come with a rechargeable system that allows you to enjoy hours of great sounding music without worrying about the plug—or draining your car battery.

RECIPES

TAILGATING GRILLED BREAKFAST PITAS

These are so much fun to make and super easy.  You just need a few simple ingredients – and you can tailor the ingredients to your liking.

Ingredients:

• Fresh pita bread
• Dozen of farm fresh eggs
• Breakfast meat (optional – we are not doing this but you could easily add sausage, prosciutto or even pancetta)
• Selection of cheeses – goat, feta, cheddar, American, whatever your fancy
• Chopped up veggies
• Olive oil

Cooking directions:

• Scramble and cook eggs on grill pan; place side in covered bowl. About one dozen eggs should serve 10 people.
• Sweep pita with olive oil on one side and grill for about 2-3 minutes to warm pita.
• Flip pita, sweep with olive oil and place desired ingredients on warm side.
• Close grill lid and let cheese and veggies warm to likening.
• Serve as whole or cut up into little “pizza” like triangles for sharing.

ORGANIC MAC & CHEESE “CUPCAKES” WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH

This great recipe can be used as just regular mac and cheese without the butternut squash. I’m sneaking in the squash to give it a little extra fall kick  (not to mention some extra nutrients for the little ones).

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of wheat / organic elbow macs
• 4 tablespoons of organic butter
• 4 tablespoons of organic flour
• 4 teaspoons of salt (to taste)
• 4 cups of organic milk
• 4 + cups of organic shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 large butternut squash (optional)
• Breadcrumbs to sprinkle

Cooking directions:

• Cook elbow macaroni and set aside.
• Peel and either broil and mash butternut squash, or if you have a babyfood steamer, cut up and steam and then blend into a puree.  Either way, just cook the squash so it can be added into a sauce and spread evenly.
• In a medium sauce pan, melt butter, add flour and mix into a rue.  Add salt to taste, but I usually do about 4 teaspoons.
• Add milk into mixture and heat to warm, almost boiling.
• Drop 4 cups of cheese in.  The mixture should be hot enough that the cheese melts instantly.  Stir in butternut squash if using it.  Mix so all ingredients are a smooth mixture.
• In a large bowl, pour mixture over noodles and stir for evenness.
• Spray metal cupcake tins with olive oil cooking spray.  Place a few spoonfuls of mixture into each cupcake slot.  Sprinkle tops with extra cheese and breadcrumbs.
• Bake on 350 for about 30-45 minutes – depending on your oven, and how brown you want cheese to be on top.   Cool and cover to transport to tailgate.
• At tailgate, place metal cupcake tins on warm grill to heat and set out to serve. These are yummy warm or cold, and the cupcake shape allows you to hold in your hand or place on a plate easily!

This entry was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 5:28 pm and is filed under Events, Food, Guest Blogger, Uncategorized. 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.