Dark Days: Alternate Universe

Monday, February 16, 2009

My Dark Days challenge update for last week is chock full of alternatives: a meat alternative and an alternative sweetener.  My foray into vegetarian scrapple resulted in a pretty great pot pie, and even though a brownie cannot be considered an entire meal (well, it can…but not in normal circles), replacing some of the refined sugar with locally made maple sugar made for an excellent brownie.

Does the halibut I made the other night for dinner count toward the Dark Days challenge?  Well….maybe, but it’s doubtful.  Halibut do live in the North Atlantic, but because of problems with sustainability, most halibut bought on the East Coast is really from the Pacific.  That said, the potatoes in this potato-wrapped halibut (you can get the recipe in this month’s Bon Appetit) are local, as is the bacon grease I used to cook the dish.  The spinach and garlic on the side are also local.  All things considered, I’d guess this is maybe 50% local rather than the 90% local required for the challenge…but the meal is so pretty I had to include it!