nelson grove

A Step Back In Time Hearth Cooking Event

2011-12-27T13:13:00.025-05:00

Eggs don't get fresher than this!

Narragansett Turkeys

sugar cone

Justin

chicken on string

The table set for dinner.

On a recent Saturday night with the temperatures hovering at 30 degrees we visited Coggeshall Farm in Bristol RI for an evening of Hearth cooking and history.We arrived about 3pm and visited with the animals,Sheep,Cows (dairy and beef) chickens,turkeys.We were entertained by one of the farm managers with stories of chicken culture and how they interact.Very comical and informative.We then went on to harvest eggs from a barn full of hay,you walked into the mounds of hay looking for fresh eggs for dinner.Then on to the garden to dig some turnips,and pick up some fallen brush for the fire.We then proceed down to the root cellar where there are barrels and boxes filled with dirt or sand with root vegetables layered in them.We collected carrots and beets.There was also a barrel of brine with hams from a hog butchering class held a few weeks before.They also had slabs of bacon curing in the main room upstairs where we cooked the meal.This building has no power and this whole evening was lighted by 3 or 4 homemade tallow candles. We cooked a chicken on a string.(the chicken was from the farm)boiled root vegetables,Johnnie Cakes on a griddle,a marlborough pie in the dutch oven.We were entertained with vast amounts of history by the two interpreters,Justin Squizzero and Stacy Booth. Everything from the use of forks and knives,you use the fork to stab food and the knife to move the food to your mouth,a challenge indeed,to washing dishes in the dining room after dinner in a barrel with homemade lye soap.We learned about sugar cones and the process involved in Making them and how to use them.This was a truly authentic experience and I highly recommend you make a visit to this small intimate but very informative museum.

http://www.coggeshallfarm.org/

Turkey cooked on the fireplace

2011-11-28T15:29:00.003-05:00

I was sick on Thanksgiving so we cooked a turkey later in the week.It took about 2 1/2 hours to cook a 12 lb turkey.It was beautifully golden and juicy.I was lazy and cooked the rest of the meal,stuffing,potatoes,squash,carrots rolls and cranberry sauce in the kitchen.I didn't want to over do and relapse.I am becoming more confident and do not feel the need to check on what ever meat I am cooking every 5 minutes.I turn it ever 15 minutes and start checking temperature after about an hour if it starts looking golden.We will soon be going to a hearth cooking dinner at Cogshall farm in Rhode Island where we help harvest and cook the meal.I don't know what we will harvest,maybe some root vegetables,eggs?This will be our third experience hearth cooking with others for a meal.I recommend the experience greatly.

fireplace cooking

2011-11-20T08:25:00.004-05:00

I decided since we got down to a cool 45 degrees the other night I would cook dinner in the fireplace.We had a potato leek soup with some toasted bread and sauted onions.The soup was delicious just potato,onions ,leek,chicken broth and a bay leaf.Then so as not to waste the hot coals an apple pie cooked in the Dutch Oven, and a bean pot of baked beans tucked into the back of the fireplace to cook over night.All came out great except we had to smush down the pie to fit in the dutch oven.I did learn to line the Dutch Oven with tin foil next time because you ruin the seasoning of the pot scrubbing off the over flow of the pie juices.I was really happy with the baked beans they came out perfect.I wasnt sure how that would work.It was a pretty low stress meal for th fireplace.No meat to turn and Pie is supposed to be easier than a cake in the dutch oven.

stirred curd cheddar

2011-10-18T13:12:00.002-04:00

My first cheddar cheese was a farmhouse cheddar that turned into a balloon like science experiment.My second farmhouse cheddar was edible but a little wet and crumbly.I also thought it was a little bitter.Now I like a basic cheddar , colby, gouda or a cows milk feta.I do not like smelly cheeses or Blue cheese.I don't even like yogurt.So why did I take a cheese making class? I saw the class for new england cheesemaking class with Ricki carrol to learn 7 cheese in one day and I saw it as a challenge.I really wanted to make my own cheddar.So yesterday we opened the Stirred curd cheddar and I was happy as a clam.It looked like real cheddar and it smelled like real cheddar but the best was it tasted like real cheddar.This process took a little longer but was well worth it.This cheese aged probably three months in the cellar then it has been in the refrigerator since spring when the temperature in the cellar got to warm to age.So I am glad i kept trying and finally achieved a real cheddar.

cleaning out the freezer

2011-07-17T19:28:00.003-04:00

I am on a quest to clean the freezer out.There is no room.Not for lovely strawberries from the market or corn in season.No room for frozen clams for winter chowder or other summer delights.So i am on a quest to clean them out as creatively as possible.Tonight was lobster and sweet corn fritters with some Coleslaw and some canned three bean salad i put up last summer.Hubby loved the lobster fritters as he does clam fritters. I am not a fan of as i call them seafood donuts.I tried them they were light and fluffy and not fishy but still not a fan.The highlight of the week was a new ice cream recipe I found in a cook book from Canterbury Shaker Village for Lemon Poppy Seed Sour Cream Ice Cream.This is out of this world!You take 2 pints of sour cream add in 1 1/2 cup sugar, 2 Tsp lemon Zest and Juice of three lemons and 2 TBL poppy seeds blend till smooth and put in ice cream maker and follow manufacturers directions.You will love this.

clams,clams,clams,

2011-06-01T14:19:00.002-04:00

This week we had steamers that hubby dug at Duxbury Beach.Since we had a whole pail we decided to have our annual clam fry with my parents.Fried clams with French fries and cole slaw.If you want the recipe google The clam box Ipswich ma. it is a great recipe.We tried sweet pickle tartar sauce and dill pickle tartar sauce.Dill won. Dessert was a collaboration, brownies,butterscotch coffee cake and rhubarb crisp.We had a frittata for lunch yesterday with local eggs,asparagus and farmhouse cheddar(my first successful batch).The cheese is a little bitter but flavorful and creamy.Also showing a picture of onions.Who can resist the first spring onions of the year.

White Meal

2011-05-29T09:04:00.006-04:00

This week I roasted a 6 lb chicken needless to say we ate alot of chicken.I came across this recipe for chicken terrapin in a cookbook from Landis museum in Lancaster Pa.I had never seen a recipe similar.This recipe had no measurements like we would use today.It started out with a couple of cup fulls of roasted chicken in a frying pan then a cupful of heavy cream,then A pinch of cayenne,clove,mace,nutmeg and mustard powder.Simmer for a while till thickens then add a wineglass full of wine, I used sherry(don't forget to take pan off heat while adding wine)then simmer a little more till thick.We also had the sweetest parsnips followed by a dessert of rhubarb pie.So a meal that was delicious but no prize for beauty on the plate.I am also showing a picture of are bees from Friday.It was very hot and they were as cranky as I was.

YEAH!!! Asaragus season

2011-05-01T19:34:00.003-04:00

Tonight we had pan seared scallops with maple cream sauce and asparagus.We obtained the local asparagus from the Pawtucket farmers market on Saturday along with the Bomster scallops.Bosmster scallops are from stonington Ct.they are shucked and rinsed in seawater and then vacuum packed right on the boat.They do not sit on ice absorbing water they also are not rinsed in preservatives.They are so delicious.The maple cream sauce is made by reducing down a cup of heavy cream in a pan on med high heat by a third then adding 2Tbls maple syrup and 1 TBls dijon mustard.I pan sear the scallops in olive oil with pepper for a few minutes each side till just opaque.Great local spring meal.

Hi Shelby I heard you have been reading the blog.

shitake mushrooms

2011-03-15T13:52:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago we bought a shitake mushroom kit at the Pawtucket farmers market.It is a manufactured log infused with spore.You soak it and keep it in the basement and keep it moist and within 10 days you have mushrooms.I have done real logs outdoors but this is my first indoor.I had left it in a bag for a few weeks before I got around to soaking it and it started sprouting on its own.I soaked it placed it on a tray with a plastic greenhouse top.AGWAY had ones about 8-10 inches high.It started growing right away.Here is our first harvest I will pick the large and let the small keep growing.The advantage of indoor is you see it and no bugs.We will use the first ones in quesadillas tonight.

Hearth cooking and cheese making

2011-03-05T13:57:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago we attended a Hearth cooking class at Woody Hill B&B in Westerly RI.What a great time we had.There were 8 students and we all took responsibility for specific dishes.Mine was Martha Washingtons spice cake in the dutch oven.I tend to burn whatever I am baking in the dutch oven.It came out great and I was able to replicate it at home in the fireplace as you can see in my photo.There were no burned spots.We also cooked a pork roast,butternut squash soup,cornbread,corn oysters,pear chutney,cranberry relish,Bread pudding.All this was cooked on the hearth,reflector oven(in front of hearth,beehive oven and dutch oven.It was a great night,none of us knew each other so it was nice to meet new people also.Ellen our host was great.I also have made my second attempt at cheddar cheese this week.We will keep our fingers crossed.When you make cheddar cheese you have whey left over.I made ricotta out of the whey and then made a dish I found in Edible Rhody.Gnudi in a lemon thyme sauce.Very similar to gnocci but mostly ricotta only a little flour and you roll into balls instead of off a fork to make ridges.It was a great recipe we really enjoyed it.

new toy

2011-02-08T19:01:00.003-05:00

Here are photos of my christmas gift and two meals made so far.A reproduction reflector oven from Sturbridge Village. I also received hearth cooking lessons at woody hill Inn in RI. The first meal we cooked was a pork roast with potatoes and turnip greens and an apple cake all produce was local.The pork roast cooked in front of the fire for only 35 minutes.It was excellent. The second meal was a local chicken with local sweet potato and a salad of greens dried cranberries and mushrooms.the chicken cooked in 45 minutes was done perfect and had a beautiful crispy skin.We also took a hearth cooking class at Plymouth plantation.We were the only students so we had the instructor all to ourselves.We had an egg and bacon fricassee,onions and currants on sop(toasted bread) a cabbage pottage,mince pie,cranberry tart and cranberry pie.We haven't the class at the Inn yet I will write about that later.

crab cakes

2010-09-19T11:06:00.003-04:00

I was lucky enough to get 6 crabs from Danielle (the fishwife) at plymouths farmers market Thursday. I ended up with 1 lb of meat and made 8 lucious crab cakes.We had 4 for dinner with a Salad from the garden and 4 went to the freezer.Danielles crabs were 2$ a piece so 8 large crab cakes only cost 12.00.It would cost me more than that for 2 small cakes in a restaraunt.So our meal last night was at a cost of 6.00 and a few pantry items the salad was from the back yard.It took a little bit of time to pick the crab meat I only do it once or twice a year but it is so worth it.The home made crabcakes are so fresh they really out do any I have had in restaraunts.Joe laughs because I swear I will never do this again while I am picking the crabs, but the next day when I make the crabcakes I always say it was worth it.

busy weekend

2010-07-24T19:57:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I made ricotta cheese for a future batch of ravioli. Today I made 20 1/2 pints of sweet pickle relish and as soon as I can find some heads of dill I will make some dill pickles.I have yet to make a batch of dill pickles that are not mushy so I keep trying.Any good recipes?
I forgot to take pictures but lunch today was Blt's with foccacia bread from Marthas Stone soup and local tomato and lettuce.The bacon was not local.Tonight we had burgers on the foccacia bread with homemade ketchup and local lettuce and onions and the burgers were from dufort farms in Rehoboth,Really good juicy burgers. We went on a foraging walk at Colechester farm today with john Root from Amherst.About 25 people.I had seen him speak before but it was really fun to walk through the farm and see all the edible plants in their habitat.

yes we eat junk food!

2010-07-15T19:35:00.002-04:00

We washed windows today and then I finally hooked up my wireless printer to my new laptop.The windows were easier. Needless to say I did not feel like cooking. So we had hot dogs. They were not local or grass fed I am embarrassed to say. But we still managed to add some local elements, a can of state of Maine baked beans,homemade sauerkraut and home canned relish.I have not tried grass fed beef hot dogs yet for a few reasons. They are usually frozen and there are only two of us and they don't have preservatives so they would go bad before we finished them.I think this is true anyways,I guess i need to investigate this. We did have local made cinnamon toast for breakfast and BLT's with local lettuce and tomato.

ravioli dinner and a salad pizza lunch

2010-07-12T15:29:00.004-04:00

Last night we had raviolis that I made with homemade lemon pasta and stuffed with ricotta and Atwells gold cheese from Narragansett Creamery RI.fresh local eggs and herbs from my yard.We also had a salad of all local ingredients.Lunch today was a pizza shell from Eva's in Providence with Naragansett Creamery's smoked mozzarella and Atwells gold along with some garlic.After it was baked I topped it with a fresh salad of local raw corn,shaved raw summer squash,arugula,olive oil lemon juice and some fresh shaved Atwells gold cheese.Atwells gold cheese is a hard cheese from Narragansett creamery that I use as a local alternative to Parmesan cheese. I try and keep these meals as local as possible without forfeiting taste.I could of used local grown whole wheat flour in the pasta and I do often,but I feel that the delicate taste of the filling and lemon pasta would of suffered from the substitution.Moderation in everything.

local lunch

2010-07-11T17:13:00.003-04:00

Todays local meal was a simple one. Stuffed quahogs from the freezer and sauerkraut made last fall.The sauerkraut was made by me last fall with local cabbage. It is amazing to me how crunchy it still is. The stuffed quahogs were made a few weeks ago by me. Joe dug the clams and the chorizo i used was local the onions and peppers were from the freezer from last summer(local)the bread i used was just leftovers from the freezer. This is a meal showing how freezing and preserving can give you a local meal any time of year.

light summer meal

2010-07-08T20:47:00.002-04:00

I really did not feel like dinner tonight with the heat.I made a fritatta so if it wasnt eaten we could have it for breakfast.I used a zucchini that was given to us some fresh spring onions from the Plymouth farmers market some fresh oregano and basil from the garden, fresh eggs from the market some hard cheese from naragansett creamery(Atwells Gold) I use this cheese like parmesean and some leftover rice.The perfect light summer meal.Trying to use zucchini more than just in bread. I did see a zucchini marmalade recipe that peaked my interest today so you may see that here soon.

getting back in to the swing of things

2010-07-05T19:38:00.004-04:00

I am trying to get back to showing our local eating on a more regualr basis.Tonights is not totally local but it is close.We had meatloaf that i used all local ingredients except a yellow pepper,our salad was one we had years ago at Alforno in Rhode Island.Shavings of raw summer squash with raw corn, shavings of parmesean ( I used Naragansett creamery's Atwells gold) with lemon and olive oil. and rice that of course was not local.Try making the salad it is really great, fresh and crunchy.

First summer farmers market meal

2010-06-07T21:08:00.003-04:00

Last Friday was the opening of the Marshfield farmers market for the summer. We bought lobster,strawberries(the ripest red I have ever seen and asparagus and some lemon marmalade.The lobster was so tender and we roasted the asparagus and the strawberries just as is. A perfect summer meal.

Slow food dinner

2010-06-04T17:01:00.003-04:00

We hosted our slow food group potluck the other night unfortunately I was to busy to get any real good pictures of the food so my words will have to suffice. I made clam chowder and steamers,Then our guests all bought food, One bought homemade prosciutto made with local pork,(and people think i am crazy with the cheese) We will talk about that later. We had an asparagus pizza,roasted asparagus and a broccoli salad,buckwheat with sour cream,an Egyptian meat pie with filo dough,a dip with eggplant and roasted red peppers on cheesy bread,strawberry pie and strawberry tart and just plain just picked strawberries (yum) A Lithuanian cake made with polenta really moist and yummy and hen of the wood mushrooms found growing out of season in an undisclosed place that were marinated.We had some locally produced wine and a good time was had by all.

Homemade Cheese

2010-04-18T16:50:00.009-04:00

Last year I took a cheese making class with the Queen of Cheese Ricky Carroll. We learned 7 cheeses in one day. I think I have finally mastered the mozzarella so I decided to try farmhouse cheddar. Joe built me a press with a pattern in Hobby Farm magazine. I bought milk from Christensen Dairy at the Pawtucket farmers market. I will not know how it came out for about 4 weeks I will post later.But the milk successfully became curds so I have hope.The picture with the black and lbs then 20 and then 50 lbs for 12 hours.

What to do with a grass fed brisket?

2010-04-18T16:35:00.003-04:00

I lucked out and bought 2 grass fed briskets at the farmers market. They were from Plato's Harvest in Middleboro.Usually I would slow cook the brisket with prunes and orange juice and wine and other good things but I decided on corned beef. I corned the beef in a salt,sugar and spice mixture with some cure power. I let it sit in the refrigerator for 9 days in this solution. Then slow cooked it for about 3 hours. This was the best corned beef ever (if i do day so myself) so lean and yummy. No guilt with this meal. After the traditional corned beef and cabbage I made corned beef hash with eggs. This also was great. Now I have to decide how to cook the other one!

Local pork Sausage

2010-03-03T18:51:00.004-05:00

Last night I made a spaghetti sauce for dinner using home canned tomato's local carrot,garlic,onion and green peppers(from the freezer) and a little bit of honey(ours).Then I made some whole wheat fettuccine from ww flour from Maine.I had bought sausages from Beaulieu farm in Fairhaven Ma. They were sweet sausages and the were Delicious, I have in the past bought pork from local farms and a few times I had pieces that were very strong and gamy but these were Great!!Also a salad of local greens &microgreens and a salad dressing with local cider vinegar and maple syrup.Tonight we had the pasta again with some three bean salad I canned this summer. This morning we had local oatmeal grown in Maine with local syrup and local dried cranberries. I am focusing on eating local as much as possible this week we have such a stockpile of food in the freezer and shelves of canned goods.

A local food sunday

2010-02-28T18:52:00.005-05:00

Today has been almost a totally local day. We started the day with pancakes. They were made with whole wheat from Maine, Cornmeal from mass,and Rye from Rhode Island. Maple Syrup from Maine. Lunch was leftover chicken and dumplings, the chicken and carrots were local. Dinner was clam chowder,Hubby dug clams this summer,local potatoes from web of life farm in carver,onions also local. Brown bread with cornmeal from RI,Whole Wheat from Maine and Rye also grown in Rhode Island and local dried cranberries,not local was leavening and molasses.Our salad had mizuna from silverbrook farm in dartmouth,lettuce from red fire farm in Granby Ma.Dried cranberries from Plymouth Ma.Microgreens from E&T farm in Barnstable.The dressing was cider vinegar and maple syrup from Maine(bought on vacation) garlic. Not local olive oil and mustard. Dessert is a fruit crisp of razzberries we picked in Sharon Ma. this summer Strawberries from Plympton and Blueberries from King farm in Pembroke ma.(we barted clams for bluberries.)It is amazing how local a meal in February can be. I am surprised at how often I sit down and realize we had an almost totally local meal with out planning it. Anything I show from Maine was bought on vacation. I consider food I buy on vacation as local since I am transporting it.

winters famers market in Wayland mass

2010-02-28T18:37:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went to the last winter farmers market of the season at Russells garden center in Wayland ma. It was great tons of people,the freshest tastiest veggies. I bought lettuce, micro greens,kale,the biggest carrots I have ever seen and they are so sweet,parsnips,celery root,shallots,and a red onion. I also bought from Winter Moon farm from Hadley ma. Organic heirloom cornmeal that was ground that morning by pedal power, the corn was also grown on ma. This probably has to be the greenest food product I have ever bought. Things they had that I did not buy,fish,beef,pork,eggs,dressings,jams,honey,gelato and pastries. The pictures are from winter moons table.

homemade mozzerella

2010-02-25T16:51:00.002-05:00

Today I made homemade mozzerella,the best yet.i used milk from the pawtucket farmers market.It turned to curds faster than any other time I have made it. Then I decided to try mozzerella sticks.They were very tasty.They were partially local, milk,egg,bread,the tomato sauce was not local.

celery root

2010-01-11T14:14:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to really cook just from what we have at home since i stored,froze and canned so much this year. Today we had a soup of leeks,celery root and homeade chicken broth with whole wheat bread and olive oil. All was local except the olive oil.The vegtables from Platos harvest in Middleboro,chicken broth from a chicken grown in middleboro and the bread with whole wheat flour grown in Maine. After using the imersion blender we had a silky sublime soup.
It was so comforting and much healthier than potato look soup.This is a meal I will make again.
If you have not seen a celery root it is hairy,ugly blob but worth the trouble to scrub peel and chop.

Indian pound cake

2009-11-25T17:28:00.002-05:00

Picked up the winter issue of South Shore Edible today. Loved the editors holiday food memories. A great article on wood burning ovens.There is a recipe for Indian pound cake that was found at pilgrim hall in a notebook dated early 1800's.Since I had all the ingredients I decided to try it,it contains johnny cake meal which is a white flint cornmeal grown in Rhode Island see the article on greys gristmill in the SSE winter edition. It also contained 1/2 of a nutmeg which I thought would be overkill but it was delicious.Foodies has the magazine in the store,pick up a copy soon as always a great read.

common ground fair

2009-09-30T19:24:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we attended the Common Ground Fair in Maine put on by the Maine organic farmers. I attended three lectures. The first was on growing and using sprouts the second was a great demonstration of fermentation,the speaker took the fear away and showed a way that is very easy using jars with gaskets. The third was a speaker on the fatback diet on getting back to whole foods and stop using low fat an d fat free products.We also saw awesome artisans and the best collection of farm stands in Maine,veggies,herbs,meat cheese they had it all. I even saw local foraged chicken of the woods mushrooms for sale.It was a great weekend.

9/21/2009 a few local treats

2009-09-21T18:08:00.004-04:00

This week I made a gingered squash soup with anadama bread from jenny's bread at the farmers market.We also had steamers dug by Joe.The funny looking vegetable is Brazilian eggplant.The skin was tough and the eggplant was on the bitter side.Looked better than it tasted.Finally a good batch of mozzarella and I smoked it after it dried on the counter for a while. I found these great smoke cones at Aubochon hardware that you can cold smoke with.I haven't tasted it yet but it smelled good. I made 4 pints of kosher dills from the garden and froze some tomatoes that i blanched peeled and seeded. I also made some new pickles.The ones like you get with deli sandwiches that are still white inside, my favorite.

One local summer week 14

2009-09-08T19:45:00.008-04:00

This week I had a lot of good experiences.I went blueberry picking at Dufort farm in Rehoboth,I also bought some beef and pork from them. The pork was very good.I have experienced some pork that has been a little strong tasting for my liking but this was really tasty.I cooked the pork with a hot slaw of cabbage,apple,onions,sage and carrots. I also cooked a wonderful corn tart with roasted cherry tomatoes from a recipe a friend gave me this week.I bought 25 pounds of tomatoes and made ketchup out of them.Homemade ketchup is worth the work.We went to a pot luck for slow foods on Labor day in Bridgewater. Not a lot of people but we had a good time and some good food and conversation.The best of the week was when I finally brought my first try of sauerkraut up from the basement. I made it about mid July in a crock in the basement and never looked at it. I sealed the top with a plastic bag of water and hoped for the best. I was really afraid of what I would find when I uncovered it. To my surprise it was beautiful! Nothing funky on top,no slime, nothing growing just beautiful fresh looking sauerkraut. Joe and I tried it together it was perfect and really crunchy.I have been having a terrible time trying to get mozzarella to come out right so I was so happy to have something work the way it should. I froze 8 cups of blueberries that I picked and will make the rest into a pie tomorrow.One local summer is actually over but I am continuing on.

One local summer week 13

2009-08-30T18:16:00.005-04:00

This weeks meal was homegrown cukes,tomato's and onion. Then a gnocchi dish made with homemade ricotta,swiss chard from a friend,homegrown onion,half and half and a hard cheese from narragansett creamery in R I and local eggs. Not local flour and olive oil. The gnocchi were light pillows of cheesy goodness.

One local summer week 12

2009-08-22T19:56:00.004-04:00

This week's meal was grass fed london broil from Plato's harvest in Middleboro ma. Our salad was local cucumber and onion from the farmers market and tomato's from our yard with local red wine vinegar not local olive oil and oregano from the herb garden.Green beans from our garden. At this point in the summer our meals are all about 75% local anyways. My tomatos are finally ripening,our best producer looks like it will be (marriana) they are a plum tomato and seem prolific they have not ripened yet. We have had cherry's and black prince. It looks like we will have a few brandy wine and very few german stripe. I was really looking forward to the german stripe.I planted 26 tomato plants but with the lousy weather I dont expect much.

Quahog

2009-08-19T18:27:00.003-04:00

I have had some questions about quahogs. They are a large hard shelled clam,an adult little neck or cherry stone. They are ground up and used in chowders and stuffed clams. They are dug a few inches down unlike the soft shelled clam that is much deeper in the sand.

One Local Summer Week 11

2009-08-16T12:20:00.012-04:00

This weeks local meals were:

#1 Roast chicken with mashed potato,cranberry jell,salad,carrots.The chicken was from Joe's nephew,the potatoes were from Plato's harvest farm,salad and carrots from the back yard and the cranberry sauce I canned last year with the neighbors berries.

#2 Stuffed Quahogs with carrots, my carrots that I grew and quahogs dug by Joe with local onions,peppers,chorico and bread from the freezer.

#3 Panzella salad, our tomato's with bread from the farmers market, local peppers,onions,cucumbers.not local olives and Olive oil and vinegar.

One local Summer Week 10

2009-08-09T18:57:00.005-04:00

This weeks local meal is late on Sunday night again, It seems I have been late every week this year. I was canning all weekend. Our local meal this week was meatloaf with beef from Aquidneck beef in RI,home roasted tomatoes,local eggs,local onions and green peppers froze last summer,with some local BBQ sauce on top. Pickled beets I canned last fall. Cucumber onion slaw local veggies with local red wine vinegar and honey from our bees. And roasted local potatoes.It was really good even though it was last minute.

Pickling and preserving

2009-08-05T19:04:00.002-04:00

Today we went to red apple farm in Wrentham,I had never been and wanted to check it out.I bought a 1/2 bushel of pickling cukes for 6.00 and a 1/2 bushel of apricots for 12.95. I know I am going to make bread and butter pickles and relish. Not sure what I will do with the fruit yet.

one local summer week 9

2009-08-02T16:54:00.003-04:00

This week three local meals. The first was boiled crabs and foccacia bread from the farmers market and clams that Joe dug. The second was crab cakes, corn from farmers market and salad from the back yard. The third will be tonight clams dug by Joe with corn from the farmers market, potatoes from Ward's berry farm where we went berry picking this week and local chorico. Clams, clams and more clams. I froze 2 batches of chowder base and 2 batches of broth yesterday and 7 large stuffed quahogs. All this from about 30 pounds of clams.I will be happy to see no seafood this week enough is enough. Saw food Inc. again this week preceded by a lot of local vendors and a great discussion period after. This was at Plymouth Plantation and was well attended.

Food Inc Movie at Plymouth Plantation

2009-07-28T19:17:00.006-04:00

The movie Food Inc. Is coming to the theater at Plymouth Plantation here is info for anyone in the area.

South Shore Edible magazine will be hosting a special event around the movie FOOD INC. at Plymouth Plantation. I have already seen this movie it is important and a must see. Saturday August 1st and Wednesday August 5, the event will start at 6.00 with vendors before the movie and a discussion after.Tell all your friends.

Check http://www.ediblesouthshore.com/ for more info.

One Local Summer Week 8

2009-07-26T09:40:00.004-04:00

We had quite a few local meals this week. Monday we had company over for stuffed quahogs made with clams dug by Joe 'local chourico local peppers from freezer and local onions.Bread stuffing from leftovers in the freezer, also a local salad with home grown lettuce local cucumber and carrot. Our dessert was homemade Amish root beer we bought on vacation with vanilla ice cream. We put the root beer down in the cellar when we got home a few weeks ago so the floats finished with a true beer flavor I guess I should of refrigerated it.(live and learn)Last night we had company over for Pizza. The crust was not local I made it with white flour from King Arthur,usually I would use whole wheat from Maine but I have not perfected the WW pizza crust so I did not want to serve it to guests. I did make the mozzarella,onion from our garden tomatoes and peppers from the freezer put up last summer and basil from the yard.We also had a salad from our lettuce and our first tomato and radishes and cucumbers from a farm d own the street. The picture of the clam meal shows the remains since I forgot to take picture till we were done.

preserving 2009/ dilly beans

2009-07-22T18:41:00.003-04:00

Today I canned 5 pints of Dilly beans with my own homegrown green beans. The only other thing I have preserved this year so far are strawberries about 6 quarts and some rhubarb. I went down to the cellar to see what is left from previous years. There are lots of pickles,beets,mustard pickles and corn relish. I will need to make bread and butter pickles and more ketchup and relish. I also will need to can more salsa, it seems a lot of things I can take me about 2 years to finish. I guess from now on I should take count of what is left before I plant so I do not plant more than I need. I also need to get better about using what I have canned.We made a lot of vegetable soup this winter with the veggies I canned and It was delicious.Our nephew gave us two huge chickens he raised this year can't wait to try one.

One local summer weeek 7

2009-07-18T07:51:00.005-04:00

This weeks local meal was one of many. A (bakeover) a recipe from Mary Janes Idea book. This is a meal of ingredients sauteed in a small wok then adding a pie crust or other topping and baking in the oven. I used my first green beans of the year,local summer squash,carrots,corn,onions all bought at farmers market,I also added green peppers and roasted poblano peppers I froze last summer. I added some Mexican spices. For a topping I used a cornbread recipe from a cookbook from the 1920's that does not use white flour. I used cornmeal from the local mill in Plymouth,honey from the back yard, butter salt and baking powder. The cornbread cooked over vegetables was almost custard like. It was real good .As a side dish we had a salad of local grated raw beets and onion,rice wine vinegar and non local orange.

We had a great dinner at a friends this week with almost all ingredients from the local farmers market,fresh salads and seafood on the grill it was delicious. We had a salad of carrots,small turnips grated with a fresh dressing of ginger and rice wine vinegar. A Mexican inspired salad of chopped vegetables(see photo above) .We had clams,shrimp,scallops and fish on the grill and to top it all off a colonial steamed pudding, similar to a brownbread with cranberries with a decadent sauce and lots of local libations. A collaborative effort a great casual summer evening. A good time was had by all I can't remember when I laughed so hard. Hope you all had A great week.

One local summer week 6

2009-07-12T17:37:00.003-04:00

This weeks local meal is littlenecks dug by Joe with some local (fall River) Chorizo and two bean salad with shell beans from the freezer from last year, and green beans from the farm down the street and corn from the same farm. Sorry no picture I totally forgot. We also had local strawberries this week, local beef, salads with all local ingriedients. I used our qhahogs to make stuffed quahogs with local chorizo and onions and peppers, and bread ends from the freezer for a party they were a hit. We saw the new movie Food Inc. this week a definate must see.We ordered a rack to cook clams on the grill so I hope it will be here for a get together we are going
to later in the week.

One local summer week 5

2009-07-05T16:00:00.007-04:00

We missed last week 's one local entry. We were on Vacation in Virginia and Pennsylvania,So we ate a lot of food local to that area since they are a little farther ahead in their season.I will blog more on the vacation later. Tonight we will have a lot of items from PA. since I count anything bought on vacation as local. We are having a PA. grown chicken bought at the wonderful Central Market in downtown Lancaster flavored with rosemary from the garden and garlic bought last fall.. This is supposed to be the oldest farmers market in the country. It was really great and you will see people coming in with their milk bottles for refills. They had a great butcher with free range poultry and grass fed beef, fresh not frozen. We will also have the first corn of the season from Billlingsgate farm in Plympton a few miles away, carrots thinned from my garden and asparagus bought from an Amish farmer on vacation and pickled beets I put up in the fall. Dessert will be grilled peaches also bought at the market in PA.

One Local Summer week 3 2009

2009-06-21T09:34:00.003-04:00

This is weeks local meal: Meatloaf the perfect comfort meal with a salad and asparagus and cranberry sauce. All salad ingredients from our yard.Asparagus Halifax 10 miles, cranberry sauce with cranberries from next door neighbor.The meatloaf was made with local grass fed beef from Dufort farm in Rehoboth about 30 miles,homemade ketchup,local eggs, Oats grown in Maine,green pepper from last year and garlic bought local last fall.Salad dressing was local wine vinegar, olive oil and fresh herbs from my garden.Ingredients used not local:Olive Oil, salt,pepper, and sugar.

Week 2 one local summer

2009-06-13T10:57:00.004-04:00

Week two of One Local Summer 2009. My definitions of eating local are, 100 mile radius and anything I buy while on vacation. Tonight our meal is a grilled pizza with a salad topping. The whole wheat for the dough was bought in Maine last fall and kept in the freezer. I usually buy 20 lbs a year. The cheese is Atwells Gold (a hard flavorful cheese) from Narragansett Creamery in Rhode Island and a smoked mozzarella from Maplebrook farm in Bennington VT. The topping for the pizza added after the shell with cheese is off the grill is composed of: greens and oregano from back yard, garlic from last fall,red wine vinegar from a local red wine,tomatoes bought at a farm stand in Mattapoisett (greenhouse) a basil mixture from the farmers market.Non local ingredients,olive oil salt and pepper. We also picked strawberries in Mattapoisett this week,bought heavy cream from a local dairy,and bought some local asparagus,we are also picking our own radishes.Pizza is usually my local (lazy meal) when I don't feel creative but the freshness of the salad on the grilled pizza base was really,really good. I will definitely be making this again. The dough is a little chewy and dry with all whole wheat but was very easy to grill compared with crusts I have tried with white flour.

one local summer week #1

2009-06-02T15:32:00.004-04:00

Our first documented local meal for 2009 ols. We had roasted vegetables on Johnny cakes, with a tossed salad. The roasted vegetables: turnips,eggplant,asparagus from wishing stone farm Little Compton RI (approximately 57 miles) and Poblano peppers from last year (frozen) and garlic bought in Maine on vacation last fall. The salad was lettuce and radishes from our yard and cucumber and tomato from wishing stone farm(57 miles) greenhouse grown.The dressing was olive oil and red wine vinegar from a Friends homemade red wine and herbs from the garden. I had defrosted some garlic scape pesto to dress the vegetables but they were to good to cover up.Lastly the johnnycake's make with white flint cornmeal from RI. Salt used was smoked salt from Maine. Not local pepper and olive oil.

springtime farmers market pawtucket RI

2009-05-31T20:23:00.006-04:00

Yesterday we went to the last of the winter/springtime farmers mkt in RI. We bought tomatoes,cucumber,eggplant,turnips,plants,spinach and asparagus. All of this in May from Wishing stone farm in Little Compton RI. Greenhouses are a great thing. I will use these in our first One Local Summer meal of the year.

what do you do with little eggs?

2009-05-17T18:51:00.004-04:00

Tonights dinner a chorizo frittata made with local bantam eggs from Joe's brother and local chorizo and chives from the yard and a little no local red pepper and non local spagetti. Also a side dish of asparagus grown at the old barnstable county farm now run by cape cod organics. This meal was a nice light summer meal.photo of eggs shows the size difference between the regular chicken eggs and the bantams.

1st farmers market of the year

2009-05-16T21:21:00.002-04:00

Today I was heading to the cape for a meeting,I had read that Orleans farmers market was opening today. There was quite a lot available Lettuce,leeks,scallions,radishes,kale,rhubarb,
plants, and shitake logs. I bought one now I have two so a better chance of harvesting enough at one time to do something with them. Then I picked up some more barnstable grown asparagus
that is so unbelievable fresh. After my meeting in Dennis off to Dartmouth for farmers market,
also a historical reenactment camp, and farm tour of Alderbrook farm. What a great day. Tommorow we feast on asparagus and hope for a cold day this week for kale soup.

Local foraging

2009-05-04T09:44:00.005-04:00

This weeks local foraging, steamer clams and Morel mushrooms, only three mushrooms so far. This is our third year having them in our front lawn but top amount was probably 6 or 7. We will have the clams with some corn I canned last year and homemade brown bread with local cornmeal and whole wheat from Maine. I am hoping to get out in the woods this week to see what I can forage, i think it is great fun to find free food. I have stored the mushrooms in a paper bag in the refrigerator hoping to have enough to actually make something.

failed local meal

2009-03-29T19:51:00.003-04:00

For some reason Sunday seems to be the day our meals are the most local, I'm not sure why.Tonight was little neck clams that I had froze in the shell this summer over Spaghetti squash with garlic scape pesto. I now know that you can keep a spaghetti squash in the cellar for 6 months and have it still be edible. But I do not know why I keep eating this vegetable, I just find it really boring even with the garlic scape pesto.The clams were not great, I think in the freezer a little to long. We also had a salad that had a few local components.So the dinner was a bust but i will finish off on a good note, strawberry shortcake with strawberries from last summer, they are delicious.I signed up to take a cheese making course at New England cheese making. I think it will be fun,I have made some mozzarella but out of three times only one was really edible.So i am really looking forward to it.

Eating local without trying

2009-03-15T20:58:00.003-04:00

Tonight dinner was almost all local without even trying. We had meatloaf :hamburger Plato's harvest Middleboro, oatmeal,grown in Maine,green peppers frozen this summer,homemade ketchup.eggs Plympton
all local except spices. Mashed potatoes from RI,green beans canned this summer.Salad was spinach and radishes from RI,our sprouts.Not local:spices,onion,oil,vingar,cucmber.I did not realize what a local meal it was till we sat down to eat it. Saw a great interview on Alice Waters on 60 minutes. I would of missed it except hubby read about it on South Shore Edible's twitter site. Now I can see a reason for Twitter. I would not have known about this if he had not read it.

a local meal in the winter

2009-03-09T14:08:00.003-04:00

Last night we had a couple also interested in eating local over for dinner. We had a beef brisket from Simmons farm in RI. We had mashed potato,maple glazed carrots homemade bread,salad(spinach,micro greens,sprouts,radish,tomato,cucumber) apple crisp with homemade ice cream. Everything was local to New England except for cucumber,condiments and flour. We had great conversations on many food related items, and I think we all learned a few things we had not heard of before. We have been out of the habit of having company over for dinner but will be trying to do more of it in the future.

Winter Farmers Mkt Pawtucket Rhode Island

2009-03-07T18:47:00.006-05:00

We went to the Winter Farmers mkt in Rhode Island today. We bought chicken and chicken feet for stock,that is a new item for me. We were able to get fresh micro greens, spinach, herbs,carrots,potato's, cabbage, apples, cider,bread. We had lunch there, hubby had jerk chicken with rice, plantains and cabbage and I had a Jamaican meat pie and homemade ginger beer all was outstanding. We also could of had goat curry but neither of us was up to the challenge. The amount of vendors and shoppers was great. This is one hour from us but well worth the trip.Things available that we did not buy were many, beef,seafood,sauces,pesto's,baked goods,fair trade coffee, tea,chocolates,French meat pies,Indian food,cheeses. well worth a visit for any foodie.There was also the extra bonus of a 60 degree day.More photo's at my Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/9086132@N06/

Still using it all up, no grocery challenge

2009-03-01T11:34:00.003-05:00

Last night was a true New England winter meal. We had clam chowder with quahogs from the freezer and last of the local potatoes, homemade Boston brown bread and cole slaw with 1/2 of my last local cabbage. This morning hubby let me know we are almost out of cereal and the last banana. So today we will make granola and I made some fruit salad from the apples and oranges in the fridge that we never remember to eat. Lunch will be leftover soup and dinner will be chicken and dumplings from the chickens in the freezer that need to be cooked a long time to be edible.

midweek no grocery shopping

2009-02-26T13:33:00.004-05:00

I have not been to the grocery store for anything except milk or cream since Friday.trying to only use what is in the house. Running low on bread and English muffins. Bread making is not as much fun when you have to, as it is when you do it on spur of the moment and your in the mood. I made homemade whole wheat bread and Boston brown bread. The brown bread is good for breakfast and will also go with the baked beans I made the other day. Tonight we will have garlic soup from the nourishing traditions cook book. This will use up my potatoes that are starting to sprout and some garlic since we have so much,and some summer squash I canned. We do not seem to be using as much garlic as last year. The soup sounds really good. I checked on the cranberries in the garage attic and I will need to freeze some soon the are starting to get soft. We store them in a cranberry crate covered in blankets. I ran out of wheat thins so I wanted to make crackers today but I guess it will be Ritz if I want a snack. I planted some lettuce seeds in a big pot today to see how they would do. I also bought some seeds for pea sprouts.

Only from the pantry

2009-02-22T17:16:00.002-05:00

I spent a good part of last summer canning and freezing local food for the winter. But I still seem to be doing a lot of food shopping,you know you need that certain herb or a particular vegtable to make the dish you want. For the next week and maybe more I will be limiting my grocery shopping to milk and cream. I will try to only use what we have in the house as of today. So dinner tonight will be homemade bread, shaker bean chowder, this will use shell beans from the freezer, chicken broth from the freezer and tomatoes I canned,a little bacon and onion fresh thyme from the garden that is still fresh and growing at the end of February.My thyme and sage plants produce all winter some times you have to wait for the snow to melt to be able to get at the thyme.I still have fresh fruit and vegetables bought last week. There will be no buying of snack food, We have Lot's of popcorn kernels which can be flavored many different ways. My favorite being the Food Network's hot and spicy kettle corn. I am assuming this may lead to weight loss since I will not be tempted in the grocery store. I have so much stored I really do not think this will be that difficult.

Fresh food in the dead of winter

2009-01-26T13:09:00.007-05:00

I cannot believe how cold this winter has been,so how was I able to get my hands on fresh local produce in this weather? The Rhode Island Winters farmers market. This market is held in Pawtucket in an old factory.There were about 30 vendors. Bakers with outstanding breads and pastries. There were indian samosas,Jamaican meat pies,pizza and gourmet sandwiches.Grass fed beef, pork and pastured chicken,oysters,clams,apples,lettuce,micro greens,pea shoots,
beets,carrots,Narragansett creamery cheese.Also local made soda with cane sugar, yacht club was the brand and the also had a juice using purple corn high in antioxidants and very tasty. Also Rhode Island grown cornmeal,this is great since local grains are hard to come buy.Information on composting and other gardening classes. We arrived before they opened,(11-2 on Saturdays) We were able to check out the merchandise before the crowds came.It was very busy showing how local healthy food is becoming important to many. This market was about an hour away so I wouldn't go every week but a few times in the winter will be great. I am sure I missed some vendors but it was definitely worth the trip.For more information here is the link http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?market=29

a cold snowy day

2009-01-18T18:59:00.002-05:00

What would be better on a snowy Sunday than homemade soup. I used homemade beef broth, shell beans I froze this summer,tomato's I canned,summer squash I canned,onion and garlic,carrots and celery. Also added some egg noodles and a Parmesan cheese rind from the refrigerator. This soup was warm and comforting, I usually don't make vegetable soup I thought it was a good way to use veggies I canned this summer.It was so good and will become a regular recipe in my kitchen.I also made cornbread with corn from the local mill in Plymouth. Since I did not have to leave the house today, I spent the day cooking and working on craft projects.

Local beef and squash

2009-01-13T19:22:00.002-05:00

I had wanted to try this meal for a while. This week being so cold seemed like the right time.http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nuevo-chipotle-beef-in-butternut-squash-boats-nuevo-latino-beef-dishes-recipe/index.html this was the winning entry on the food network for a beef cook off. The beef is slow cooked in a flavorful sauce with tomato,vinegar,chipolte,cumin then served over 1 quarter of a roasted butternut squash then topped with tomato and avacado. I thought it had over cooked in the crockpot but it was great and would make again. The beef was local, and the squash and the tomato was a (backyard beauty ) from Maine. This was a very healthy dish and did not feel like healthy food.

Its the New year

2009-01-02T18:06:00.002-05:00

We are aiming for a healthy new year here, I have only missed one day of walking since Christmas. Also trying healthier menus, lots of salad and soup. Today we had Ellie kriegers grilled thai beef salad from her book the food you crave, It is a really satisfying salad. I also made homemade clam chowder yesterday. It was from clams Joe dug this summer. This year instead of freezing them raw whole I ground them up and froze them in there juice and also used clam broth I froze from the Qhahogs i cooked for stuffed quahogs. The clams ground up were great no big chewy pieces all small and tender and it tasted very fresh. The potatoes were also local.

homeade beef broth and a healthier new year

2008-12-29T18:11:00.002-05:00

I made homemade beef broth the other day with about 12 lbs of bones, it made about 18 cups of delicious goodness. The only thing is after the pot sat in the refrigerator I pulled off a disc of over 1/2 inch thick solid fat. Not soft like chicken fat but hard to even dent with a spoon. I now know why the Prime rib we had the other night should be a once a year splurge. The bones were from the prime rib roasts at the store. The visual of that fat and thinking of your arteries was a good teaching tool. I wish I had taken a picture. Tonight we are having barley mushroom soup with the broth and homemade bread. We have started walking every morning. Trying to get back into a healthy pattern. All the goodies at Christmas have shown up on the scale. We have been having oatmeal every morning and our new favorite is with orange zest and strawberries from the freezer. Not a combination you would normally think of but I have so much fruit I froze over the summer, I gave it a try.

money saving idea

2008-12-26T17:36:00.004-05:00

Today I went to the grocery store first thing in the morning. Every year the stores have rib roasts on sale for christmas and new years. It is a good time to buy beef rib bones to make stock. I bought about 8 packages of beef rib bones with a lot of meat for 99 cents a pound. I will roast and then simmer the bones with celery,carrots,onions,garlic,bay leaves and a few whole cloves and peppercorns. This is a cost effective way for delicious broth. Another tip is to save your celery ends and onion ends in the freezer for when you make soup. This is also a good time to buy roasts for the freezer since the are usually marked down. Also check your stores produce section for clearance on dried fruits from the fancy christmas platters.

a local Christmas tree

2008-12-17T14:59:00.003-05:00

This year instead of going to the local tree farm to have our tree cut we decided to use what we have. many years ago we planted some christmas trees on our land. That section of the property is now all overgrorwn and we never paid attention to the trees. They were better looking than I thought they would be I have enough for the next seven years. The tree is not dense but it enables you to put lights and ornaments in the middle also. I love it! Also my husband loves funky hats so i made him a christmas tree hat. The wool was from sheep at Soule Homestead farm in Middleboro. So the hat is also local. I have not been posting my meals between craft shows and christmas baking my time is all taken up. Our meals are still about 75% local and it is becocming second nature.

fresh chicken , what I have learned

2008-11-06T22:21:00.003-05:00

This week I picked up 4 chickens at the farm where I always get my chickens. I took three apart and packaged and froze the meat then used the carcass's to make the best chicken broth ever. I went to roast the last bird a little over 6 lbs, It's legs were sticking straight up to the sky and I had a hard time tying them together. After it was done cooking the leg did not wiggle as it should. I know the first year I was told to let them relax a few days before cooking so they would relax. I roasted the bird on Wednesday and it was killed on Sunday and I guess it was still in rigor. I read more on this and it says to have the chicken set for a few days, but I guess this one needed more time. We could not even cut the dark meat and the white wasn't very tender. I hope the ones i froze will be better. I have never had this happen before although sometimes the legs are tough but I attribute that to them being able to run around. We had the white meat reheated in gravy tonight and it was O.K. I ground more up for chicken croquettes for tomorrow. Still some meat left not sure what that will turn into. It may be tough but I will not waste food so I will make it edible with a little creativity. Would love to hear any thoughts on this.

Challenge over

2008-11-03T17:03:00.003-05:00

Saturday the first of November the Eat Local Challenge is over. I really feel I did as much as possible to keep local, it sure is a lot of work. Well now that the challenge is over I would say our meals will probably be at least 75% local. We went to a harvest fair on Saturday then Mexican food, I waited all moth for this, Avocados!We ate so much that was it for the day. Sunday am we had eggs and toast late and the leftover chili and cornbread from Friday. We also went and picked up our chickens.. I bought 4 And will separate and freeze packages of parts and Roast one. These chickens make the best gravy. I will chronicle how many meals you can get from one chicken always a great challenge. Now we are in the crunch for craft show production so meals will be simple and posting irregular.

Eat local challenge day 31

2008-10-31T20:48:00.002-04:00

I started off the last day of then eat local challenge with a chocolate roll from the farmers market, I know not local ingredients but it was so good. Lunch was leftovers. Dinner was chili, the meat from Plato's harvest Middleboro, tomato's from my garden, onions and garlic local and beans from Maine. I also made cornbread with Whole Wheat flour from Maine and corn meal from the gristmill in Plymouth and local eggs and honey from our yard. Not local was oil and spices.

Eat Local Challenge day 30

2008-10-30T19:53:00.003-04:00

Today breakfast was homemade whole wheat bread with strawberry rhubarb jam, all local. Lunch was a greek salad, local lettuce and cucumbers from the farmers market with my tomato's and cows milk feta from Narragansett Creamery in Rhode Island. The dressing was homemade with local red wine vinegar only non local item was olive oil. Dinner meatloaf from yesterday, roasted sweet potatoes and green beans from Freitas farm in Middleboro. The meatloaf was made with all local ingredients. Today was the last day of the Plymouth farmers market for this year. They still had a great selection of produce,jams&jellies,Baked goods,goat milk cheese and ice cream and meat. I was able to buy some grass fed beef and bacon and ground pork and sausage from Plato's Harvest in Middleboro. I also stocked up on carrots,cabbage,green beans. Joe bought us chocolate buns from Jenny's breads, they are so good.When I returned home there was a message that the farm I get my chickens from will be butchering on Sunday so I will get my chickens for the year.From now on my goal will be to cook as much as possible from what we have and only visit the market for perishables, butter,milk,ect.

Eat local challenge day 29

2008-10-29T19:01:00.006-04:00

Were in the homestretch and I think I did better than I thought i would. I was talking to a friend today while I was making bread. She said If she had homemade bread she would eat it till it was all gone. Normally I would say the same except during the challenge I cannot go out and buy a loaf that is as local as mine since I was able to buy whole wheat flour in Maine. So I am more prudent with it knowing I have to make the next loaf. Breakfast was my homemade granola with all local ingredients,Oats from Maine,dried cranberries from Plymouth and honey from our yard. Lunchwas ww bread with a tomato from our garden, they are ripening on the windowsill, Bacon from dinner the other night and local cheddar cheese,(smiths). Dinner was mashed potatoes and green beans from Frietas farm Middleboro, my own cranberry sauce made with berries from our neighbor and Meatloaf, beef from Codman farm In Lincoln, Oats from Maine, tomato sauce from out tomatoes, local onions,green pepper,garlic and egg.

Eat local challenge day 28

2008-10-29T14:02:00.002-04:00

For breakfast today I had rug hooking so we always have a nice assortment of goodies and really good coffee. Lunch we had apple and grilled cheese sandwiches, local cheese was smiths smoked gouda, apples from Plymouth and my ww bread. Dinner was a turkey pie from bongis in Duxbury, Green beans from Freitas farm in Middlebrow and mashed potato's also from frietas.
I love these Turkey pies they are definitely going to become a staple.Doing this eat local challenge really has you hunting out new sources for your food and it is surprising how many great things you will find close to home that you have never tried before. I organized the pantry of all my home canned goods today and I will be posting a list soon of all I canned this year. I had some left from last year I need to get better about using what is there. I am posting a list in the kitchen so I can check off what I use and to remind me what is there since it is in the cellar.

Eat local challenge day 27

2008-10-27T19:23:00.002-04:00

I spent the day today trying to install a wireless printer. I just love how at the store the sales people always say( it is easy just pop the disc in and your there) NOT! All day on the phone with different tech support people and I still do not have an installed printer. Well on top of that I did manage 3 local meals. Breakfast, homemade granola: oats from Maine, honey from backyard and dried cranberry's from a bog in Plymouth. Lunch we had my own canned corn relish with grilled cheese(Smiths Massachusetts) and apple(also local from Plymouth) sandwiches on my Whole Wheat bread. Dinner was bacon bought in Maine on vacation, eggs farmers market and my ww bread and local apple cider. I saw another challenge on the web for (pioneer week) where you live as close to a pioneers life as possible. After the computer today it is looking pretty good to me.

eat local challenge day 26

2008-10-26T20:03:00.002-04:00

Cant believe it is day 26 of the 2008 eat local challenge.Today's lunch was roasted veggie sandwiches with homemade coleslaw. All local ingredients except oil & mayo. Most of the veg tables were from Freitas farm in Middleboro, bought at the farmers market. the cheeses on the sandwiches were smoked gouda from Smith farm Massachusetts and mozzarella from maplebrook farm, Bennington Vt. Dinner was Italian sausages with onions &peppers, coleslaw and corn on the cob. Veggies from Freitas farm and sausages from Blood Farm in Groton Ma. Oil and mayo non local ingredients. I also made more whole wheat bread today with whole wheat flour bought in Maine on vacation.

eat local challenge day 24

2008-10-25T15:01:00.004-04:00

We had a late breakfast on Friday, we had johnny cakes with butter and maple syrup, all local ingredients. Dinner was homemade ww bread with roasted eggplant and roaster red peppers and mozzarella cheese. All local except olive oil. Salad with local lettuce and spinach, cukes,onions, homemade dressing. We have been having local cider instead of OJ for breakfast and I really enjoy it.

eat local challenge day 22 (the King and I)

2008-10-22T18:40:00.002-04:00

Well today I slipped and had lunch somewhere not in any way considered local. It was raining,I skipped breakfast it was 1 pm and I needed food fast. Not that I am sure it was actually food. I wont tell you where the title tells it all. So i tried to redeem my self at dinner. Homemade whole wheat pasta with sauce. The pasta made from ww flour bought in Maine on vacation along with salt & water. The sauce was made with tomato's from the back yard local onion and garlic and basil from the yard and two tablespoons of heavy cream. I was really surprised by how good the pasta was I really thought it would be terrible. I always buy ww pasta and I like it but I didn't think it work with homemade. A pleasant surprise.

eat local challenge day 21

2008-10-22T10:50:00.004-04:00

Day 21, wow I am tired this eat local challenge involves so much planning.Breakfast was goodies at rug hooking. Lunch Joe had the leftover pot roast and I had local made hummus on whole wheat bread with homemade pickles. Dinner was buffalo chicken sausages (Alfresco foods) made in Massachusetts , although I have no idea where there ingredients come from. I know lazy cop out. We also had local potatoes roasted in olive oil and smoked sea salt from Maine. It is like having bbq. The Indian pudding finally finished cooking, I didn't think it would ever be done. Well time to start planning Wednesdays meals.

eat local challenge day 20

2008-10-20T18:41:00.002-04:00

Today was simple skipped breakfast, lunch was chili from the next door neighbor, I consider that local!, and homemade bread all local ingriedients. Dinner was the leftovers from last nights pot roast and we will be having that again tomorrow. I did add homemade with local veggie coleslaw and homemade cranberry sauce. The cranberries come from the bog next door. I also made indian pudding, local cornmeal, milk, eggs and molasses bought on vacation in Virginia.So not local items today would be mayonaise, spices,sugar.

eat local challenge day 18

2008-10-19T18:48:00.002-04:00

Lunch /breakfast fried eggs and homemade bread, with local made strawberry rhubarb jam. The bread used ww flour from Maine with cornmeal from the Plymouth gristmill. Dinner was pot roast with potato's and parsnips and carrots. All local. I had a lot of winter squash to put away for winter and I was told to wash it with a mild solution of water& bleach(1tsp per gallon) this kills any bacteria so your squash will last longer. They say a dry 50 degree spot is perfect so I will store them in the cellar. Last year I had one squash we had in June and was still perfect.

Eat local challenge day 18

2008-10-18T18:01:00.003-04:00

Today I made Homemade granola oats from Maine, our honey and dried cranberries from a farm less then 20 miles away. I also made homemade bread, I used ww flour we bought in Maine that was grown there on vacation, cornmeal from Jenny's Gristmill in Plymouth and our honey. Lunch was leftover roasted veggie sandwiches from yesterday and leftover vegetable soup. Dinner was Local Italian sausage( blood farm Groton) with peppers and onions over baked potato. all the veggies local. Also a salad of tomato's and lettuce and basil from the back yard with homemade dressing, used red wine vinegar from a friend that he made with his own homemade wine. They forcasted frost last night so I am covering the tomato's with sheets at night so they will continue to ripen on the vine, it took all summer and they are finally ripening. We also had local cocktails, Hurricane rum from Nantucket with local warmed apple cider. The amount of planning trying to do all local is very time consuming but a great challenge for using what you have. Soup is a good item because you can make a lot of soups with the local food available to us.

eat local challenge day 17

2008-10-17T18:56:00.004-04:00

Breakfast was a roll from jennys bread bought at Thursdays Plymouth farmers market. Lunch homeade vegtable soup with extra garlic and hot pepper, all veggies local only items not local was olive oil and spices. Joe has a cold so I made extra spicy to help clear his sinus congestion. Dinner was homemade cauliflower soup ( In my head it sounded good, not so much) but Joe liked it and with it we had roasted eggplant,roasted red pepper on bread from the farmers market with mozzerella and broiled. Very good, the mozzella from maplebrook farms Bennington Vt. all veggies from the farmers market.

eat local challenge day 16

2008-10-17T18:50:00.002-04:00

I do not remember what breakfast was but lunch was a greek salad with all ingriedients local except oil. The feta cheese is from naragansett creamery in Rhode Island,cows milk feta in a sea salt brine. We had this with homeade ww bread. Dinner was A mini clambake, steamers dug by Joe with potatoes corn and chorico all local.

eat local challenge day 15

2008-10-16T09:42:00.006-04:00

Today Breakfast was homemade whole wheat toast(wheat grown in Maine) with homemade beach plum jelly. Lunch we had soup left over from previous meals this week. Dinner was a turkey pot pie form Bongi's turkey farm, I would guess that only the turkey was local. We had local brussell sprouts with dried cranberries (from Plymouth), homemade cranberry jell (cranberries from the bog next door, and mashed potatoes also local, Freitas farm Middleboro. The perfect comfort meal.

Eat local challenge day 14

2008-10-14T18:50:00.003-04:00

Today I held off on breakfast because I had rug hooking and I new our hostess would make something yummy. She did not disappoint, blueberry crumb cake,homemade and delicious. Lunch was more kale soup, the pot that keeps on giving. Dinner was grilled cheese sandwich on homemade whole wheat bread,Smiths cheese Winchendon Mass and ww grown in Maine. We also had homemade cream of tomato soup, cherry tomato's from the back yard,homemade chix broth from the freezer (made from locally grown chicken from Fiddlehead farms, Berkley) Basil from the back yard and local heavy cream(just 2 TBLs) you don't need much. I really enjoyed this meal I am so glad we are in soup and stew season.

eat local challenge day 13

2008-10-14T18:46:00.002-04:00

Skipped breakfast again, bad habit. for lunch we had leftover kale soup. I did some unplanned fall cleaning today, you know how you clean one thing and then the next thing you know your tearing a whole room apart. So dinner was burgers at charlie horse. Probably not a local ingredients, but they do have solar power, compostable takeout containers.

day 12 eat local challenge

2008-10-12T21:49:00.003-04:00

I woke up late today so we had brunch, scrambled eggs with green peppers and onions and homemade home fries. All ingredients were local except oil & spices.For dinner we had homemade
whole wheat bread and kale soup. The Linguica was Gaspars from Dartmouth Ma, kale and potato's from the farmers market and broth from my freezer,(from a locally grown chicken). The whole wheat flour was grown in Maine.The green tomato pie i made yesterday was good,i thought it would taste like apple pie but it had a very unique flavor almost floral.

Day 11 eat local challenge

2008-10-11T19:03:00.009-04:00

Today I pulled up the bean plants but I still have tomato's coming although I don't think many will ripen, except the cherry tomato's. Two plant's and they just keep on coming. I like to roast them. I toss them with olive oil, garlic and herbs and roast tham at 400 for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally, then I freeze them in two cup portions for pasta or pizza topping. You can also use the immersion blender if you think the tomato skins are to tough. I made a green tomato pie for dessert I will tell you later how it came out. Breakfast was oatmeal with Grandy oats grown in Maine, bought on vacation with apples from friends and our honey. Lunch was a truly lazy local meal, corn on the cob. Dinner was Fried Clams dug by Joe. The cornmeal was from the gristmill in Plymouth I believe the grains were from New york, homemade coleslaw with local cabbage and onions and carrots mayo not local,and homemade tarter sauce . I guess I need to add mayo as an exception. I know I could make it but the oil would not be local so why bother.Joe went to a friends today and they sent home a bag of what I think is Australian spinach. We had bought spinach at the farmers market this summer and when I got it home it was thick leaves with a slight fuzz so I was not sure if it was really spinach but it was good. So I investigated online today and came to the conclusion that it is Australian spinach. I love free food!!

eat local challenge day 10

2008-10-10T17:18:00.002-04:00

We still had many clams left from Joe's trip clamming on Wednesday so steamers for dinner again tonight. Lunch was pizza on cibatta bread same as yesterday. I went to the grocery store for a few things,coffee filters,sponges,crackers I came home with just what was on my list(this is unheard of) only eating locally this month leaves very little that can be bought at the store. I will miss the farmers markets once the end of the month comes.The farmers market I go to every week is in Plymouth mass, it will end the last Thursday of October they also have one on Saturday mornings. I assume all other local markets will stop about the same time. I have quite a great stash of local food in the freezer and canned but I will miss the market. Last year they had a Winter farmers market in Providence, Hopefully this will happen again and will have more vendors.

day 9 eat local challenge

2008-10-09T19:58:00.002-04:00

Skipped breakfast today. Lunch was pizza on ciabatta bread from the freezer with tomato's basil and cheese, all local . Dinner steamers dug by Joe with butter we didn't bother with sides. We bought chocolate rolls (So Good) from Jenny's bread at the Plymouth farmers market. The market is on the water and it was a beautiful day.Also bought corn,kale and potato's.

day 8 eat local challenge.

2008-10-08T20:15:00.002-04:00

breakfast oats from Maine with apples and maple syrup all local. Lunch was out at a small locally owned cafe with my mom, great pumpkin soup. This was after pedicures and a little shopping. Dinner was homemade meatballs with gravy, brussell sprouts and roasted potato's everything grown local.Joe went clamming today so guess what's on tomorrows menu.

day 7 eating local

2008-10-07T20:36:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I made enough of everything that we had the same meals today, Sure makes things easy. I have a great stockpile of local food,but I am used to cooking what I am in the mood for or what I have energy to cook. This really takes a lot of planning and you may have a craving but have no substitute to fill it. I will have to get some cider, I forgot about juice for breakfast, I don't know of any local citrus orchards!We usually get a crate of cranberries from our neighbor then I will be able to make cranberry juice. I have been trying to use honey and maple syrup for almost anything I would normally use sugar for, except coffee, it has to be sugar. I canned some spiced apples the other day from apples given to me they came out pretty good, an interesting side dish.I will do a list later of all my canning I did this summer.

Day 6 eating local

2008-10-06T20:11:00.002-04:00

Today I managed three local meals. Breakfast was Oatmeal with apples and honey. Oats grown in Maine bought on vacation, apples from a friend and honey from the back yard. Lunch was Portuguese linguica rolls bought in Westport Saturday and salad. Salad lettuce, cucumber and cherry tomato's from the back yard. Dressing was local garlic, homemade red wine vinegar from a Friends homemade wine, oil not local. Dinner was Beef stew, grass fed beef from Middleboro (plato's farm) all veggies local.only non local item was spices. Homemade bread with whole wheat grown in Maine, bought on vacation. Made an apple cake, non local flour and spices & oil.snack's
carrots, apples and plums.

weekend road trip

2008-10-05T17:16:00.003-04:00

We spent the day yesterday exploring Westport and little compton. We had a great breakfast/lunch. of Portuguese breakfast sandwiches with linguica and potatoes and egg. We went to Grays general store in adamsville for jonny cake meal. The owner gave us some great tips on places to check out. We also drove along the shore road in Newport. I saw gates to a great farm doing work with heritage breeds, I will have to find out more about this for a later trip.We were going to try the Salvation cafe in Newport for dinner who uses a lot of locally sourced food but they did not open till 5pm and I was to hungry to wait so we headed home and stopped at a small family restaurant for dinner.I had a burger I would guess not local and Joe had seafood probably at least 1/2 local. All in all a great day stopped at a few farms, bought pumpkins, gourds,brussell sprouts, plums,onions,and Narragansett creamery cows milk feta(it is great).A beautiful fall day in New England.Today we had heuvos rancharos for brunch local eggs on homeade corn tortillas with homead salsa. The masa was not local. Dinner is homeade stuffed quahogs (clams dug by Joe) with local corn and coleslaw.

messes & Successes

2008-10-03T17:42:00.003-04:00

Day 3 of eat local,We eat so much local food i thought this would be a breeze but sadly not the case. Breakfast, I have great plans for pancakes with Maine grown whole wheat or homemade tortillas with eggs but what do I have this morning? A peach. How Boring, Lunch was the same as the first two days except I added cole slaw,the snafu with this was mayo,forgot it is not local!This afternoons project was mozzarella, I have made this 4 times it has only come out edible once and today was not that day. Dinner: I had a bad headache so leftover meatloaf which I left under the broiler to long (a little crispy) Green beans from the back yard and left over fried rice from pre challenge night,but at least it was homemade. I may not be doing this perfectly but I am trying, and did not send hubby out for takeout so a definite improvement.

day 2 eat local challenge

2008-10-02T19:20:00.002-04:00

For this challenge I will be trying to eat at least 2 locally sourced meals a day. I will use local ingredients from as close as possible. No mileage I will use ingredients from new England, and items bought on vacation. Exemptions are coffee,spices,oil,yeast.

today breakfast was whole wheat toast with beach plum jelly, both homemade and wheat was grown in Maine.

Lunch: turkey sandwich on ww bread with homemade pickles and homemade cranberry jell. Turkey from neighboring town.

Dinner: meatloaf, potatoes, green beans and cherry tomatoes. The beef from Codman farm in Lincoln, Used homemade tomato sauce,oat's grown in Maine,local onions,peppers,eggs,potato's from farmers market and beans and tomatoes from back yard.

eat local challenge 2008 day one

2008-10-02T10:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was day one of elc. Not off to a great start, no breakfast, we had a local lunch of locally grown turkey(bongis) on homeade ww bread, ww from maine, with homeade cranberry jell and homeade pickles. We already had previous dinner plans so not local food, but local restaraunt not a chain.