One Local Summer- Week 4: Mid-Atlantic Report

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Maryland

Due to technical difficulties, smtwngrl’s post was missed last week so I want to make up for it here. She enjoyed rainbow chard and zucchini sautéed with spring onion, garlic scapes and radishes and seasoned with basil and balsamic vinegar. This tasty dish was served over wild rice with steamed snap peas on the side. The veggies all came from her CSA and local farmer’s market. For this week she took inspiration from fellow OLS participants. There was what must have been a tasty tomato and onion salad and some pickled kohlrabi–– inspiring indeed! She rounded out her local extravaganza with a poached egg on toast and a glass of local wine.

It was pasta this week for Danielle and family as the farm makes its transition from spring to summer. The pesto was part of last year’s reserves. It was topped with homemade chevre– even the milk came from the farm –and a sprinkling of this year’s basil. Homegrown salad greens and grilled pork tenderloin from their Tamworth pigs completed the meal.

The Purloined Letter found herself swimming in summer’s bounty this week thanks to a productive trip to the farmer’s market, a particularly generous CSA offering and her own garden’s success. This she felt was worthy of celebration, so she saluted her good fortune with a dry cherry martini.

Then she broke out the grill and served up some farm-fresh steaks, corn on the cob and potatoes.

New York

Meghan went all out this week and made a corn custard with sautéed mushrooms and chorizo. The chorizo she found at the farmer’s market served as inspiration for the meal. On the side she served up a green bean salad, then toasted it all with a Long Island rosé. Delicious.

Prepare to be inspired by Mia’s pizzas this week, I know I’m already planning mine. She made two kinds, both enabled her to use up some of her reserves in the freezer as well as leftovers from last week’s OLS meal. Very clever! One featured pesto and sausage. The other, tomato sauce and onions. A tossed CSA salad was served on the side.

Pennsylvania

Take a look at what Robin brought home from the farmer’s market.

From this a quiche was born featuring jalapeno Colby cheese, spring onions and homemade crust. I am impressed. She also reprised her potato salad from the week before since it was such a hit with the family.

Pamela lunched with a friend over local apple and cinnamon pork sausage with a side of potatoes and sautéed zucchini with spring onions. It turned out to be a significant week in Pamela’s OLS journey and I’m looking forward to reading more about her experiences.

New Jersey

Our local meal this week was a family affair, even my 10-month-old daughter participated! We enjoyed local cod with a basil and garlic scape pesto over sautéed chard and quinoa. I topped it with some cubed zucchini.

-this section of Mid-Atlantic updated posted by Elizabeth of Seedling.
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Pennsylvania

Those who attended Anj’s Fiber Nite got a real treat: two dishes made from local ingredients!  Using Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone as her guide, Anj served peas with onions and sage, and zucchini with onions and tomatoes.  Having attended Anj’s Fiber Nite at least once, I know that Anj is a stellar cook - I bet it was delicious!

Mikaela’s simple approach to seasonal eating included a meal with just six ingredients: turnips, cucumber, garlic scapes, tofu, spring onion, Swiss chard.  She cooked up tofu in barbecue sauce, and Hakurei turnips with Swiss chard, spring onions, and garlic scapes.  My plan to encourage Hakurei turnip love is working!

It seems timely that Caroline’s meal this week included Jersey-caught bluefish, what with my wailing lamentation about the lack of Jersey fish for purchase in the area.  In Caroline’s case, the bluefish were included in her CSA share - that’s so cool!  She grilled it up with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice and local cilantro.

Beany has been trying to convince her husband to quit buying store-bought tomato juice.  She finally convinced him with her own special blend of tomatoes, cilantro, raspberries with a bit of red chilli powder and lemon juice.  She served the cocktail with a noodle stir fry with local peas, carrots and broccoli, as well as a green bean mushroom dish.

Naomi hasn’t had time to make a full on local meal, but she has been having tons of local ingredient smoothies made from blueberries, black raspberries, strawberries, and yogurt.  Way to celebrate the berry season!

Pat was on vacation last week, so she pretty much made a local meal every day! Wow!  So what did Buzz and Pat eat last week?  Pork medallions with cherries, cucumber salad, chicken pot pie, cream of asparagus soup, ricotta with strawberries and honey, and broccoli with cheesy mushroom sauce.  I’m just going to move in.

Cabbage was the star of the show at Philly Farmers last week.  Cabbage was transformed into cole slaw and served it on oat bread with cheddar cheese, along with corn on the cob and white beet chips.  They also made kale chips, which is something I might have to try to use up some my CSA share kale.

As for me, I had a few local meals this week.  I ended the week by finding some local (although barely so) clams that I steamed in butter, white wine, a bit of chopped onion and garlic, basil, parsley, and dill. Mid-week brought a vegetarian dinner of Hakurei and Scarlett Queen turnips from my garden, along with a casserole of kale, spelt berries, garlic, and cheese, as well as a meal of the best chicken I’ve ever tasted served with carrots in butter, parsley, and tarragon and grilled yellow squash.  Earlier in the week I cooked up some lamb marinaded in red wine, olive oil, oregano, and honey and served it with shaved carrots in butter and dill and spinach.

New York

Peg started her day with a hearty local breakfast: potatoes and onions with eggs...or, the fancier way to put it: a frittata.  It’s the first thing that Peg ever learned to cook by herself!  That was years ago, so I’m sure she’s had plenty of time to perfect her recipe!

Linda made a giant omelette with radishes and portabellas, and fried potatoes with onions.  She even accommodated her husband by cooking the potatoes and onions until ‘burnt’.  Aw, that’s love!

-this section of Mid-Atlantic updated posted by Nicole.