One Local Summer, week 1: Southern

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Just like the growing season, I’ll start down south and work my way north for the first round-up from the Southern region, although it looks like most of our participants are concentrated right here in Virginia. It’s been a wet season thus far, and early markets and CSA deliveries are full of verdant greens, as evidenced in this week’s meals.

In North Carolina, Melissa of Rabbit Hill Farm prepared a braised hot salad of green leaf lettuce, locally made goat cheese, garlic sauteed NC coastal shrimp and braised farmer’s market zucchini. (She also happens to have one of the cutest blog headers I’ve seen!)

Kristina at Tennessee Locavore has already enjoyed a few local cherries, despite a challenging fruit season thus far, and shared an entirely local meal of broiled pork neck-bones, salt boiled new potatoes, and steamed snap peas from the garden, followed with strawberries.

Melissa of Bridgman Pottery made a delicious meal of polenta with sauteed green onions, Swiss chard, beet greens and pork sausage; a chopped “farmers market salad” of lettuce, radishes, carrots all from the market, cherry tomatoes from the garden, and a buttermilk/yogurt/goat cheese ranchy dressing (from homemade yogurt).

Checking in from Kentucky, Caroline at Burrow House prepared a meal of spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, roast chicken, and a honey lavender ice cream.

We have several participants from Virginia this year, where Sylvie of The Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener starts things off with a survey of what’s coming up in her wonderful garden, a steak salad and a vanilla maple custard with strawberries.

Nancy of Learning As I Go put her daughter to work making butter for their first OLS dinner, which included roasted beets, asparagus, grilled pork chops, pureed English peas and local ice cream atop a rhubarb crumble.

Keeping Up with K cooked local bacon and eggs on a campfire, enjoyed last year’s strawberry jam and ate a home-grown salad with basil vinaigrette.

Nana Sadie Rose made a local radish, green onion and “weeds” salad to accompany an omelet, and even rewarded her cats with some homegrown catnip.

Walnut Spinney made use of home-grown and market-sourced ingredients for a pork stir-fry served with cornbread, and strawberries and cream for dessert. She even ground her own grains from Wade’s Mill and used Virginia-produced soy sauce.

Elizabeth of Caveman Food made a simple bacon and eggs using Virginia’s renowned Polyface Farms eggs, followed by more strawberries and cream. (All these strawberries are making me crave shortcake!)

Jasmine of Knitting 40 Shades of Green used asparagus, potatoes, and Blue Ridge Dairy’s smoked mozzarella in her spring frittata.

And another frittata was on the menu here at FoodieTots, with a buffalo sausage, garlic scape and kale rendition. (If I missed anyone’s emails, please let me know and I’ll update the post.) Looking forward to week two!—Colleen