Midwest One Local Summer: Week 13

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

The shift from summer to fall is underway here in the Midwest.  Here at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, apple season is underway and tomato vines are starting to look tired.  It has been a strange summer in terms of weather and many of the OLS participants from this region have had their hands full with life transitions but in the mantra of gardeners (and those who eat local) there is always next year when things can be better.  To wrap up the summer we have posts from Laeroport, Feeding Maybelle and Columbus Foodie.

Over at Laeroport the final OLS meal was a family effort with Lori’s son Eliot bring home fish from a fishing outing with the grandparents at her brother’s farm.  Bluegill nuggets were drenched in a cornmeal and milk mixture and then deep fried.  Lori served the catch with green beans and bruschetta which included tomatoes, garlic, onions and basil, all from her CSA, Moon on the Meadow.

Maybelle’s Mom featured at BLT pie which was also inspired by meals shared with her father, a doctor, in the hospital cafeteria back when hospital food was a little more food like.  Her delicious pie had a flaky cheddar cheese crust. She provides a link to this Gourmet magazine recipe and reports that it held up to the complex filling. She filled the crust with tomatoes and caramelized onions which brought sweetness and moisture to the party; bacon spice and saltiness; and the Swiss chard and kale brought seriousness. Her creation sounds delicious and could be just the way to warm up a chilly kitchen as summer turns to fall.

Columbus Foodie laments the end of the OLS and wishes for a One Local Fall to celebrate the goodness still to come.  I plan to stop by CF’s blog and see what is cook as the season progresses as fall is my favorite season of the year and deserves some glory of its own.  For the final week of OLS, Caprese Risotto was on the menu and it turned out to be not only the last but the personal favorite meal for the challenge.  This recipe (found on another food blog) brought out the flavor of the fresh ingredients – sungold tomatoes and basil picked right from my deck, fresh mozzarella from Blue Jacket Creamery, half and half from Snowville Creamery, Kitchen Basics chicken stock, leek and garlic from the Worthington Farmers Market. This is one that just says “August” to Columbus Food who wouldn’t even attempt to make out of season.