One Local Summer: Week Four

I keep aiming for something more snazzy with my One Local Summer meals, but this week ended up being a simple salad of veggies and fruit from the farmer's market.

I never would have put this salad together on my own, so with the condition of only including items that are grown locally, I had a chance to try some new flavor combinations. The salad was dressed with a locally made cranberry dressing and included lettuce, broccoli, fresh peas, and redcurrants. I can't seem to eat a meal without some protein and carbs, so I added on a slice of sourdough I bought at the market. Yeah, I know...not locally flour but it was locally made bread. The 100% locally grown meal is still escaping me, mostly because proteins and starches have been harder to come by, at least until the potatoes come in.

I did snag some Stillman's ground beef this week at the Quincy Farmer's Market. It was frozen solid at lunchtime so I'm saving it for another meal - maybe for a Fourth of July cook-out. I wasn't expecting there to be meat at the market. The woman who accommodated me and my handful of one dollar bills and quarters said they did pretty well in Quincy today, so meat will likely be making a come-back. That's good news for me. Next time I will bring more cash!

To my lunch, I added glass of milk from Thatcher Farm for a little protein, which I was able to pick up at a local small specialty grocer, The Fruit Center Market. The store does a good job of carrying some locally produced items, like ice cream and soda, although I've become disappointed lately that the fish mongers inside can't tell me which fish was caught locally. The store does not do a great job of carrying locally grown produce. The week they had strawberries and that's it. Like Whole Foods, they label where the produce was grown, but almost all of it is from California and Central or South America. Probably most people prefer their food to come from somewhere afar. It's more exotic maybe? I generally find that it rots quickly, whereas my farmer's market produce lasts over a week and sometimes two.

While the 100% locally grown meal still eludes me, I've had some fun this week whipping up some other meals with locally grown ingredients, including some red currant muffins for today's breakfast and some yummy kale with garlic and dried cranberries for dinner. I've never had kale, and with this easy recipe, I'll eat a lot more. Even Matt ate it. For serious, it was good and you should try it.

In the fridge I also have some beets to try out, maybe roasted and blended into this dip. I have some turnips too. Gotta find a recipe for those. Fresh red currants, kale, beets, and turnips are all new to my palate, so it's been an exciting week experimenting with early summer produce!

Ahead this week - strawberry picking and jam making! And maybe a trip to another poultry farm.

Comments

[Kim]

Sara, this is a great looking salad! I have never seen red currants around here, so it was great to hear how you've used them.

[Carla]

Red currant pie was Grandpa Elliott's favorite dessert! There was a large section of years where we couldn't buy fresh currants here in the states, but, we still try for them when we hit Brantford! It was homemade red currant jam that got Matt started eating ham! I've not grown them yet, but maybe I'll give that a try here. Our raspberry bushes have really branched out this year, so I'm expecting BIG produce soon! We've already had two rhubarb custard pies (well, one for the 4th of July and one in progress) and I have recipes for several other rhubarb concoctions, so, we'll see how long that lasts. I can feel myself growing heavier as I write this ...