uvlocalvores : field notes

Here are some ideas and recipes (*starred items) for those wondering what’s a Localvore to eat for breakfast in January.

Breakfast:

Eggs and homefries
Cheddar Omelet or Souffle*
Farmers Diner Sausage and Bacon
Stonewall Farm Sausage
Trukenbrod Whole Wheat Toast
Pancakes: potato*, apple, squash/ pumpkin or cornmeal* pancakes
Cream of Cornmeal Hot Cereal*
Butterworks Oatmeal
Wheat Berry Porridge
Egg, Potato and Onion Frittata (Spanish Tortilla)
Butterworks Maple Yogurt and local apples
Cornbread
Hot Apple Cider

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*Cream of Cornmeal Hot Cereal

( Water can be used instead of milk or a combination of the two.)

1 cup milk to 1/4 cup local cornmeal equals one serving

Directions:
Heat the milk almost to the boiling point. Add cornmeal and stir for several minutes. Add a sprinkle of salt if desired. Reduce heat and cover pan with lid. Simmer on lowest heat for about 5 minutes until it thickens and reaches the consistency you like. Add a little maple syrup. Yum!
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*Localvore Potato Pancakes (breakfast for 2 - or a hungry one!)

(This is a quick and tasty recipe and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or supper.)

2 local potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 local egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 T. local whole wheat flour
2 slices local onion
salt & pepper to taste
local butter and/or oil

Put 1/2 of the potato and everything else in a blender or food processor. Blend to a batter, slowly adding the rest of the potatoes. Drop by spoonfuls in heated frying pan or griddle (greased with oil/butter.) Cook to a golden brown. Delicious served with homemade applesauce and/or Butterworks yogurt or Vermont Butter & Cheese Creme Fraiche!
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*Cornmeal Pancakes

1 c local cornmeal
1 T local maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1 c boiling water
1/2 c Butterworks whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 local egg
1/2 c local milk
2 T melted local butter

Combine cornmeal, syrup and salt in bowl. Slowly stir in boiling water; cover, and let stand 10 minutes. Mix flour with baking powder; set aside. In small bowl, beat egg, milk and butter until smooth. Pour into cornmeal batter, along with flourmixture, stirring quickly only until combined. Meanwhile, slowly heat griddle or skillet. To test temperature drop a little cold water on hot griddle; water should roll off in drops. Use 1/4 cup batter for each pancake; cook until bubbles formon surface and edges become dry. Flip, cook 2 minutes longer, or until nicely browned on underside. Serve with butter, warm maple syrup and/or homemade applesauce.

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*Cheddar Souffle

This is an easy, no-fail souffle and is delicious!

1/4 cup local butter
1/4 cup local flour
1/2 tsp salt
Dash cayenne
1 cup local milk
8 ounces local sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 local eggs, separated

Melt butter; blend in flour, salt and cayenne. Add milk all at once; cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat. Add cheese; stir until cheese melts.

Beat egg yolks until very thick. Slowly add cheese mixture, stirring constantly; cool slightly.. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually pour yolk mixture over; fold together well.. Pour into ungreased 1 1/2 quart souffle dish or casserole. For a top hat that puffs in the oven, trace a circle through mixture 1-inch from edge and i inch deep. Bake at 300 Degrees for 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted off-center comes out clean. Immediately bring to table and break apart into 3- 4 servings with 2 forks. Serves 3-4. (Note: Make sure that oven rack is set such that the souffle can rise.)

Pat

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Our Challenge Kick-off kicked off to a start with a scavenger hunt in which we each had to locate and interview 1) a gardener, 2) a wild edibles forager, 3) someone who extends the season through canning, freezing, drying or cellaring, 4) a local foods cook or baker with a favorite recipe and 5) someone who uses wheat berries. The room was abuzz with talk of local food!

Many folks brought local foods, flowers and books for door prizes which added to the fun.
Those who had pre-ordered D’Acres bread were able to pick up their loaves (Maple Wheat or Garlic Herb) thanks to Sarene Schumacher Caiazza who acted as bread broker. The Upper Valley Localvore Steering Committee provided refreshments for which there were many requests for recipes.

Deb Jones made a delicious Melon Salsa. She says she mixes the following ingredients “to taste.”

Cantaloupe
Onion
Sweet pepper
Hot pepper
Cilantro
Sunflower oil
Apple cider vinegar

Hand mince ingredients or process in a food processor. If cantaloupe is very juicy, process it first and drain off some of the liquid before adding to other ingredients.
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Roberta Silveira made a delicious frittata. This was a crowd pleaser!

Roberta’s Bell Pepper and Potato Fritatta
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From “Made In Vermont Cookbook”
Preparation Time: 30-45 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes

4 Tblsp. extra-vigin olive oil
2 large red onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic
4 red peppers, cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
4 yellow peppers, cored seeded and cut into thin
strips
8 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
1 tsp oregano
salt and black pepper to taste
4 medium red potatoes, thinly sliced and steamed until
tender
12 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tblsp. Dijon mustard

Grease an 11 x 17 inch baking dish and set aside. In a
large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat
and cook the onion until soft, for 10 minutes,
stirring often. Add the garlic and both peppers. Saute
for 15 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomatoes,
basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly to
combine; reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 25
minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the sliced
potatoes in the bottom of the pepared dish. Using a
slotted spoon, put the sauteed vegetables on top of
the potatoes. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs,
heavy cream and mustard. Pour the egg mixture over the
vegetables.

Set the dish in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or
until it is just set and lightly golden. Remove the
dish from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut into
wedges and serve. Voila!

* * *

Scott Woolsey from Killdeer Farm Stand did a demo, making Corn and Tomato Salsa. It was delicious - who would think of adding mint?!

Killdeer Fresh Corn and Tomato Salsa

1 red or white onion, diced
3 tomatoes, cored and diced
1 pickling cucumber,diced
6 leaves spearmint, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/3 cup cilantro, minced
1 lime, juiced
1 1/2 cups sweet corn (2-3 ears)
3 chipolte peppers, chopped fine (adjust amount to desired heat)
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving
Yield: 1 quart

Special thanks to Susan Miller and to King Arthur Flour for the use of the King Arthur facilities, and to Scott for his salsa demo.

Pat

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[cross-post from the northern New England Localvore discussion list]

Hello to all Upper Valley Localvores,

Thanksgiving Day is less than two weeks away. How local will your meal be? Some of us are planning localvore meals (with wild cards) and others are aiming for 80% local. Are you up for a challenge?

If you are not hosting the dinner, you may be limited to making your own contribution local . . . but if the meal will be at your home, how
about nudging others to include some locally grown foods in their recipes?

The Upper Valley Food Co-op has Vermont Cranberries. Last night I made a delicious cranberry sauce using a ratio of 1 cup cranberries to 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup maple syrup. (Multiply as needed.) Cook carefully for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries”pop”. Cool to room temperature and serve.

This is my menu for a vegetarian Thanksgiving:

Stuffed Acorn Squash*
Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Sweet Potatoes (from Cedar Mountain Farm at UVFC)
Kale-Apple Sauté (cooked in cider)
Mushroom Gravy (if I can find local mushrooms–otherwise Onion Gravy)
Maple-Cornbread with Butter

Maple-Apple Pie
Maple-Pumpkin Pie
Strafford Creamery Smooth Maple Ice Cream

Cider, Maple Seltzer, and a local wine
Mint Tea

*stuffed with sauteed onions, garlic, celery or celeriac (optional), sage, thyme, Trukenbrod whole wheat bread (toasted and diced), chopped walnuts (wild card), and maybe some chopped cranberries with some grated cheese, salt and pepper. Adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook
“Comprehensively Stuffed Squash”.

Mad River Valley Localvores have posted a 100-Mile Diet Turkey Dinner menu with recipes.

Here’s an interesting article on the original Thanksgiving.

Remember that there will be a Winter Farmers Market at the Norwich Grange from 10:00-2:00 on Saurday November 18; Killdeer Farmstand may be open that day as well.

If you have a favorite Thanksgiving recipe that can be made from locally grown foods, would you be willing to share it at our new site? Jenna Dixon is developing an Upper Valley Localvore web site. Please check it out, check the wiki, check the blog . . . and add your recipe to our new wiki. Never wikied or blogged before? Experiment with it–Jenna has simplified the process. If you have difficulty, please let me know.

Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Pat McGovern

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How lucky we were to have Jessica Prentice, one of the original San Francisco “Locavores”, present “Deepening Our Sense of Seasonality” in Norwich, at King Arthur Flour on Tuesday night.

Jessica is a knowledgeable and articulate spokesperson for local and seasonal food and her presentation was relaxed, engaging and enjoyable. She uses the structure of 13 full moons throughout the year to talk about seasonal food through history and through different cultures and myths.

There was some interesting Q and A after her talk; I particularly appreciated her response to the question of “elitism” in regard to local and organic foods. Jessica said the issue was a big one, and she didn’t have all the answers but she did have observations and opinions: she observed that people have eaten local food through most of human history and our current dependence on globalized corporate food is just a “blink” in human history.

Many immigrants come to this country with a tradition of growing their own food and continue to do so in spite of low incomes. Many cities have community gardens where low-income people can grow food for themselves and their neighbors. The problem is not low income — it is a matter of culture and values. (If the culture promotes junk food, alcohol, cable tv, video games, and lots of commercial “stuff,” those things are likely to become the major values and where people spend their money — in our culture, farmers are demeaned and local food has not been given much value.)

I personally felt energized by Jessica’s presentation and know that Cindy Heath and Lou Anne McLeod are now percolating on the idea of community feasts a la 13 Moons!

–Pat

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