Another delicious week has passed. Although not every meal is local, it gets pretty close. I think the only thing that is holding me back from a completely local diet is my absolute and undying devotion to any and all breads. I do have some local flours now, so be prepared to see some experiments in future Market to Table posts. But back to this week... Tuesday was my One Local Summer - all local day.
Knowing that I would be biking some errands around town, only to return to mow the lawn, I decided a hearty breakfast was the way to go. Fried eggs and potatoes it is! The potatoes are fried in olive oil with onion, mushroom, parsley, and just a hint of salt to bring out all those flavors. The eggs were also fried (once over easy) in just a bit of olive oil. I rounded out the meal with a nice big bowl of fresh watermelon and a mug of hot tea. Yep! The tea was also local (mint from my back yard and sage from the farmers market). Who needs gas? This is all the fuel I need to get those errands done!
I have to admit though, by lunch time, I was HUNGRY! Tuesday's homemade soup was similar to last week's with just a few additions. I sauteed onion, mushroom and potato for a few minutes in olive oil, then added squash, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, parsley, vegetable stock (from steaming veggies earlier in the week) and a little salt and pepper. With those potatoes in there, it really made for a hearty soup. Instead of my normal side of bread and jam, I went for freshly steamed corn on the cob from the farmers market. A friend had suggested to rub just a little of the Amici olive oil (also from the farmers market) on the corn for added flavor. She was right! Delicious!
By mid-afternoon, I was on the hunt for something sweet, so I opened up one of the jars of local citrus (oranges and grapefruit) that I canned last month. They had been preserved just perfectly (good to know since it was my first time to can fruit - I'll definitely be trying it again). The fruit was a delicious and a perfect snack.
Before I knew it, it was time for dinner (that's it in the very first photo up top). This final meal of the day offered some new treats. First, a friend of mine had visited DiIorio Farms (just south of town) and brought back some of those local flours I mentioned earlier. She also brought back some local rice. I didn't even realize we had rice in Texas and it turns out we even have a Rice Festival! Who knew? Well, obviously someone knew, but anyway.
The second treat in the evening meal is the polish sausage I picked up at Sand Creek Farm this past weekend. So here I was with a drawer full of veggies from the farmers market, local rice from south of town, and fresh polish sausage. That's not too hard to figure out. I stir-fried some onion, mushroom, zucchini and squash with just salt and fresh basil as seasonings, then tossed in sliced sausage just to heat it through. It was served on a bed of rice and sprinkled with shredded gouda cheese (also from Sand Creek Farm). Oh, for the love of all that is good in the world, was this stuff to die for! Mmmm... I'd share, but.. Mmmm... you know... Mmmm... oh, look at that. It's all gone. Sorry, maybe next time.
To top it all off, my hubby came home that night with my drug of choice - a chocolate chip cookie from our local deli, Blue Baker. I can't help but grab it and shove it into my face (still in the wrapping) just to inhale the sweet-gooey-chocolately-chippy goodness. My eyes roll back in my head as I exhale. One more whiff and I'll put it down. Maybe just one more. Yum - cookie!
And there ends this week's edition of Market to Table. When it was all said and done (and eaten), here's how it played out:
- Potatoes
- Squash
- Zucchini
- Tomato
- Onion
- Corn on the cob
- Parsley
- Basil
- Mint
- Eggs
- Amici olive oil (not local - the local woman who sells the oil farms it in Italy and brings it back here to sell)
- Polish Sausage
- Gouda cheese
- Rice
Blue Baker (small, local deli - though I'm sure the ingredients are not local)
- Chocolate chip cookie
A roadside stand my father visited (local - canned in May)
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
Kroger Grocery (individual items listed as local or not)
- Mushrooms - Local (36 miles)
- Watermelon - Local (370 miles)
- Salt (not local)
- Pepper (not local)
In the end, the only items that weren't local were the salt, pepper, and olive oil (and at least with the olive oil I'm still supporting a local even though the olives aren't from here). Pshew! It took a little planning but what a wonderful day in food!
For more ideas on eating local foods, check out the One Local Summer site and see what others are eating. Happy (and mindful) eating!
6 comments:
Ugh. I hate these local food posts. They always make me so friggin' hungry.
Looks delicious! How did you happen to find your local flour source? Googling just ain't helping me on this one.
The only reason I knew about the market was because my Dad stops by there all the time on his way back from Houston. He's always brought fresh fruits and veggies.
Then a couple weeks ago, my friend Sharli was there and mentioned to me that they had flours, rice and beans. My Dad, who doesn't cook and who knows I don't do much in the way of cooking, probably just never thought about it. So the next time my friend went up that way, I sent her with a grocery list and some cash (isn't she nice!).
I wish there was some way to figure all this stuff out. It's really hard sometimes. I think it' s all just a big learning exercise. We do a little here and there, we talk to people, they have ideas, and we learn a little more. I don't know what I would have done if I had completely gone local all at once like the 100 mile diet people did, but I'm growing into it and that seems to work.
yeah, I feel hungry too. I'd write more but I need to go make myself a snack.
Burbs, I am so with you. I just ate a piece of the pie that I got from the farmers' market. But now I'm hungry all over again!!
Canned local citrus. Dang. I should have done that. I'll have to wait until next year.
Oh, Burbs, if you are doing OLS (or even if you aren't), check out the other people in your region. That's how I got hooked up last year with my local flour source. The other option is to troll the local health food stores and such.
burbanmom - I'm working on a post for next week to list the local sources of foods (by category) that I've found and where I've found them. That way, the locals here can have one place to look rather than search all over my blog. I'm also secretly hoping that as people around here find other sources, they'll let me know and I can add to the list.
Maybe you could start a similar list and people can comment to let you know of places you might not have heard of. Certainly worth a shot.
Post a Comment