tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1613655001299993822011-11-23T09:53:17.930-08:00A Columbus locavore blogs toward a greener tomorrowAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.comBlogger1251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-22372939023242777342010-02-15T12:47:00.000-08:002010-02-15T12:59:43.951-08:00

Chili is one of those things that is always vegetarian in my house. Even though I am no longer a vegetarian, the veggie version is just so good that I see no reason to make it with meat. This is the first time I've ever made it from scratch (I confess I love the Fantastic Foods box mix!) and it came out quite well. For a base I used onions, green pepper (frozen from last year's farmers market)

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-77972643460897777552010-02-07T19:31:00.000-08:002010-02-07T20:21:47.326-08:00

We are both having colds here Chez Green Leanings, and we've just had a blizzard... so clearly, dinner is soup! Soup is one of those things I cannot in good conscience buy (unless it is at a favorite restaurant, of course!) It is just too easy to make, and really requires very few ingredients. This week's soup was chicken barley, and it contained local chicken thighs, chicken stock, hulled

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-48473853715852640812010-02-01T09:56:00.000-08:002010-02-01T10:18:32.355-08:00

This is the time of year when I get really tired of mashed potatoes. I've tried hard to avoid the meat-starch-veggie pattern of meals this winter, but sometimes it's just the easiest thing to fall back on. A recent episode of a cooking show by Nigella Lawson got me thinking about mashed beans instead of potatoes, and that brought me to this week's meal. Dinner was a pan-fried pork chop, green

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-35342946595171112052010-01-24T19:56:00.000-08:002010-01-24T20:09:35.696-08:00

This week's dark days meal still seems a bit exotic to me, living in the Midwest - rainbow trout! Farmed trout from Freshwater Farms of Ohio, to be exact. We stocked up on it during their Fish and Shrimp Festival in the fall (although, alas, they ran out of shrimp before we got there.) I pan-fried the trout and served it over a medley of carrots, daikon radish and snow peas. The trout and all

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-42746653289150108962010-01-18T08:14:00.000-08:002010-01-18T08:25:21.946-08:00

Some nights, the best you can do is scrambled eggs. It's one of those foods I'm just now learning to eat; as I child they were they were the bane of my existence. They were that one food I wouldn't eat, and I was once forced to sit at the table for hours with them, until I finally choked them down, ice cold. Fortunately my mom soon realized that I just didn't like egg yolks; I'd eat any number

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-76132243196457628462010-01-10T18:27:00.001-08:002010-01-10T19:00:35.187-08:00

We've had January weather in earnest this week - plenty of cold and snow. I decided to stay on the comfort-food theme, so this week's meal featured caws pobi, or Welsh rarebit. Beer, cheese, bread - what would be better? In an attempt to add in some vegetables, I whipped up some homemade cream of tomato soup with stewed tomatoes from the freezer. I fully intended to add a salad as well, but in

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-24659573017979899172010-01-03T18:53:00.001-08:002010-02-04T08:18:57.117-08:00

With temperatures in the 10's and 20's F, it has definitely been "a big pot of something bubbling away on the stove" weather. I decided to use stew beef this week, and made beef burgundy over mashed potatoes and turnips with a side of Brussels spouts. This version of beef burgundy had grass-fed stew beef from Long Meadows, leeks and thyme from the garden, carrots from Wayward Seed CSA, Cabernet

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-85877408679651295252009-12-27T16:04:00.000-08:002009-12-27T16:22:55.046-08:00

This week's meal was one of those "look around the kitchen and see what needs to be cooked." We had Swedish Christmas sausage, mashed acorn squash with apples, lacinato kale sautéed with leeks, and steamed potatoes. The sausage came from our local butcher shop, Bluescreek at the North Market, and contained potato and allspice. It was quite good, but since I am not the biggest sausage fan I am

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-745634339536469352009-12-20T21:21:00.000-08:002009-12-20T21:30:47.605-08:00

Spaghetti and meatballs are on our rotation of winter meals here Chez Green Leanings. I've even made peace with the fact that the meatballs are never really round, unlike the ones I remember from my childhood. But lopsided or not, these are darn tasty! The meal included fresh linguine from our favorite pasta shop (Pastaria in the North Market) along with homemade meatballs made with grass-fed

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-83283051467568098722009-12-15T08:56:00.000-08:002010-01-24T20:10:06.847-08:00

This week we had a lovely soup made from green-striped cushaw squash and caramelized onions, along with some homemade croutons. My method for squash soup is very similar to the one for making potato soup. I start with aromatics, which in this case was simply onions. I decided that I wanted a very rich flavor from them, so I caramelized them until they were a rich brown color (to do this you

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-27922754063616077642009-12-06T19:25:00.000-08:002009-12-06T20:17:01.372-08:00

This week's Dark Days meal features some of the last of our CSA produce from Wayward Seed Farm. I shredded Napa cabbage, carrots, and daikon radish together, and cooked them with an improvised sauce made of honey, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ponzu shoyu. For protein I cooked a single pork chop (from our local butcher shop, which has its own farm) in a similar sauce, then sliced it

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-29674678990075684032009-11-30T20:07:00.000-08:002009-11-30T21:40:29.436-08:00

Dark Days Challenge meal week 2: leek and potato soup, with freshly-dug leeks from the garden and green mountain potatoes from my CSA with Wayward Seed Farm. This week's challenge meal was inspired by the bed of leeks that were unharvested until last Wednesday. The weather had been pretty mild, but I knew that I was beginning to push my luck. The fact that I had a ton of leeks meant that this

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-2189516214633872332009-11-16T08:18:00.000-08:002009-11-16T08:58:06.184-08:00

One of the best things about winter is the Dark Days of Winter Challenge, hosted by Laura at (not so) Urban Hennery. I love seeing what other bloggers are eating in the winter, and getting new ideas for my freezer and pantry stores. This week I cooked a meal that debuted last year during the dark days challenge, and has become a favorite in our house. It also happens to be my number one comfort

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-67309389514879594812009-10-04T08:39:00.000-07:002009-10-04T08:52:27.415-07:00

October is a busy month! First of all, in Columbus we are celebrating Local Foods Week with the organization Local Matters. They have some excellent programs for food in schools and urban agriculture, and they are working to make fresh local produce available to underserved communities in Columbus. Check them out! Also, the Eat Local Challenge has finally been announced (it started on October

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-7626553551126224522009-09-22T12:02:00.000-07:002009-09-22T12:49:13.625-07:00

Wow, did I fall off the planet or what? Apparently blogging is like exercising, and once you fall off the wagon it can be hard to get back on. We've had a long, hot summer of delicious local meals though, so I will try to play a little catch-up!July: I miss peaches already! This dish was simply pan-grilled peaches with a little honey and cinnamon, topped with golden raspberries. Simple and

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-10049978145532947172009-07-05T12:27:00.001-07:002009-07-05T12:38:08.275-07:00

We had a little Fourth-of-July cookout this weekend, and my favorite part of the meal was the caprese salad in the picture. The tomato was from Wishwell farms, the mozzarella from Blue Jacket Dairy, and the basil from our CSA at Wayward Seed. (Non-local salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar completed the dish.) The rest of the meal wasn't very photogenic, but was still tasty. Hot dogs

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-63922691980433899662009-06-27T15:40:00.000-07:002009-06-27T16:06:49.741-07:00

It's brunch again for week 4! The eggs (look at those amazing golden yolks! Gotta love pastured eggs!) were scrambled with herbs from the garden (sage, parsley and chives) and a little bit of gouda from Oakvale, bacon was from Bluescreek (as usual), biscuits were homemade with whole wheat from Flying J Farm, and strawberries were from our fruit CSA with Wayward Seed Farm. Honey from Barry's Bees

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-74176887495682775712009-06-18T07:06:00.001-07:002009-06-23T20:13:34.233-07:00

This week's meal celebrated our CSA pickup, with braised greens and roasted hakurei turnips from Wayward Seed Farm. The protein for the meal was a chicken breast from Speckled Hen farm, pan-fried and served with a pan sauce (the best part of pan-frying) that was full of winter savory (a truly wonderful herb, like a very mellow rosemary.) The "dessert" was a bowl of fresh shelling peas, gently

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-29080395488579748272009-06-12T17:03:00.000-07:002009-06-12T18:14:28.701-07:00

Friday night has become "use up the rest of the CSA produce so there's room in the fridge for tomorrow's pickup" night. I should have instituted this last year! Since the CSA is very radish- and greens-intensive I am making a special effort to use them all each week. This week I had a full head of Napa cabbage, a bunch of tiny scallions, and half a bunch of radishes. There was also a package

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-85693842736699959882009-06-07T13:43:00.000-07:002009-06-07T19:40:47.753-07:00

Our meal for week one was brunch, which is possibly my favorite meal of the week. This one featured serviceberry pancakes (more on the serviceberry below) with bacon, early cherries, and of course maple syrup! The pancakes were made from a mix from Quiver Full Farm (~33 miles) along with buttermilk leftover from making butter with cream from Snowville Creamery (~107 miles.) The bacon is from

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-71325587816895889502009-05-22T19:13:00.000-07:002009-05-22T19:15:12.383-07:00

It's that time again! I'm looking forward to another summer of unique meals and inspiration from other bloggers! The sign-up period ends on May 1, and the challenge runs from June 1 to August 30.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-73518104493463671082009-05-17T19:14:00.000-07:002009-05-17T20:19:18.880-07:00

Wow, I've really been neglecting the blog! I've been a little preoccupied with continuing shoulder pain/mobility issue (turns out my minor surgery in January left me with a severed spinal accessory nerve, so my trapezius muscle is pretty much paralyzed. Desperately seeking a surgeon to do nerve repair in the short window of time that remains for that type of surgery, or looking at a major tendon

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-80544659258272309912009-04-11T10:07:00.000-07:002009-04-11T10:27:37.651-07:00

I must confess that we aren't responsible for discovering the first farmers this year - I knew there were farmers showing up because of Twitter. (Yep, I'm a twitter-head. You can follow me here if you are into that sort of thing.) With the winter markets still going strong, and with my Saturday morning writing group, we just haven't been haunting the market in search of early produce. But we got

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-44547461208042454772009-03-28T16:58:00.000-07:002009-03-28T17:11:11.817-07:00

In about half an hour we'll be participating in our second annual Earth Hour, which involves shutting off the lights (and the computers, and unplugging electronic devices) at 8:30 PM, regardless of time zone, for one hour. It is part of a global warming/climate change awareness campaign by WWF. People argue that shutting down for one hour doesn't make much of a difference, but its goal is to

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-57223534140668842682009-03-16T07:24:00.000-07:002009-03-16T07:39:13.713-07:00

I guess this is the last week of the challenge, which officially ended yesterday. Wow! I've had a great winter of really good, interesting local meals, and the rest of the challengers have been endless sources of inspiration. Thanks everybody! My final meal has fallen back into the meat-vegetable-vegetable-starch pattern, but at least it features a new and interesting local product! The protein

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-34532067167630642182009-03-09T15:03:00.001-07:002009-03-09T15:18:34.512-07:00

This week we had a vegetarian meal that was pretty darn good. For this week's bean dish I decided to try my hand at rajma (kidney bean) curry. I used light red kidney beans (variety: pink floyd) from local growers Pop and Judy, along with local butter, onion, garlic, cilantro, and tomatoes from the freezer. The salt and spices were the only non-local ingredients. I served it over locally-grown

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-24558433471503564302009-02-28T13:17:00.000-08:002009-02-28T13:57:18.620-08:00

It was Mardi Gras week here at Green Leanings - not that we celebrate it in any way except for King cake. I have a huge weakness for very gaudy King cakes, and this one was both colorful and delicious. I didn't bake it, but it did come from Columbus' very own Piece of Cake, a lovely bakery in the Short North. It is an adorable shop that smells like the bakery of your dreams. Can't wait to try

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-89240103695920660222009-02-23T08:31:00.000-08:002009-02-28T19:18:23.933-08:00

Week 14! Surely it must be time for spring, right? I am very envious of my friends in the south who are working on their gardens and enjoying warm weather. Here we have cold and flurries. This week's meal is unencumbered by photos, because they came out quite poorly. I decided that it was time to institute my own bean night (after Laura of Urban Hennery)since I have a cupboard full of heirloom

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-72289961593584457362009-02-16T09:52:00.000-08:002009-02-16T10:09:44.422-08:00

I had great plans to make a very healthy meal this week - plans that were slightly foiled by the amount of butter I used, alas. It was tasty, though! This meal featured locally farmed trout from Freshwater farms of Ohio. I pan-fried it with fresh lemon juice (not local) and herbs. My second attempt at cauliflower puree was fantastic! I used two small potatoes along with the cauliflower, plus

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-25642058476547601782009-02-08T09:47:00.000-08:002009-02-08T10:08:30.207-08:00

Week twelve already! Look, we're getting closer to spring! I haven't done much cooking lately - my minor neck surgery left me with nerve damage in my neck and shoulder, and my right arm isn't entirely functional (and we won't even talk about the pain. Nerve pain is way beyond anything I could have imagined.) And I am right-handed, of course, which makes this all so very interesting in the Chinese

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-91926260693603924432009-01-31T10:10:00.000-08:002009-01-31T10:52:18.603-08:00

This week's dinner featured spiced ground lamb with pine nuts from this recipe by my friend Lisa at Kitchen Chick. I use about a pound of lamb in the recipe, and I adjust the spices to taste. Allspice and lamb are fantastic together! This recipe has become a standard in my house, usually served over a little bit of (non-local) rice. The lamb I used is from Northridge Farm in Johnstown, Ohio.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-44986995520726048712009-01-30T18:37:00.000-08:002009-01-31T10:53:04.220-08:00

My partner and I attended a "meet the farmers" night at the incredibly lovely TehKu Tea Company in Dublin, Ohio. We were able to chat with some local farmers, including our friends Adam and Jamie of Wayward Seed Farm. There were food samples from the farmers as well, including the most delicious squash soup I have ever tasted (made with seminole squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and some sort of

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-59036265103065542242009-01-25T06:51:00.000-08:002009-01-25T07:07:31.196-08:00

Week 10! Only three months until asparagus! (I hope - spring can be fickle in the Midwest.) This week's meal was one of my attempts at keeping meat portions small and vegetable portions high. The starch portions were a little high as well, but homemade stuffing is one of the great joys in life. The meat portion was one boneless chicken thigh (I pan-fried it with the skin on for flavor then

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-39174778569404235692009-01-17T13:58:00.000-08:002009-01-17T17:04:08.565-08:00

Is it week 9 already? I still have a freezer full of food and a pile of squash, so things must be going okay. This week's meal was the grumpiest brunch ever, as I learned that people who are feeling poorly after surgery shouldn't try to cook brunch before taking their pain medicine. Duh. The stars of the show were blueberry pancakes with a blueberry/maple syrup that I made with the extras (I

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-87066563778213986562009-01-09T09:41:00.000-08:002009-01-09T12:17:56.241-08:00

I'm blogging in a bit of a post-surgical fog this week; I had a lymph node in my neck excised for a biopsy on Wednesday, and I didn't anticipate how much recovering from it would, well, suck. Fortunately I made my dark days meal on the night before surgery!This week I have returned to last year's favorite meal of spaghetti and meatballs. I've made it a dozen times at least and the darn things

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-79006909178262449002009-01-03T19:05:00.001-08:002009-01-03T20:00:01.463-08:00

Since the new camera I got for Giftmas is having some issues (why on earth would it require Windows XP?!) I have chosen a meal from the old camera. This one was a vegetarian delight with candied curried squash, bean ragout, and spinach sauteed with garlic. The curried, candied squash idea came from my friend over at Hungry Woolf, who conveniently blogged her recipe so I was able to borrow it. I

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-35931998882946829432008-12-26T18:05:00.000-08:002008-12-26T18:44:41.137-08:00

Happy holidays! This week's dinner was quite spur-of-the-moment; fortunately that moment happened at the North Market around lunchtime, so I had plenty of time to implement it. We'd gone to pick up some ice cream from Jeni's as a present for my mom, and our walk around the market took me past North Market Poultry. I was struck by the loveliness of the duck, so despite a small qualm as I

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-79020264281245055652008-12-19T13:16:00.000-08:002008-12-19T13:25:24.799-08:00

This week's entry is my very first patty melt. I think that a patty melt is what happens when you realize that ground beef will be the quickest thing to defrost for dinner, and while you haven't got any hamburger buns there is a loaf of bread that will do just fine. The patty melt was made of ground beef from our friend Ed at Long Meadows Grass Fed Beef in Utica, Ohio (~43 miles) and cheddar

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-80663923959003350622008-12-08T18:34:00.000-08:002008-12-08T18:43:56.902-08:00

This week's dinner has become a regular menu item for us - Asian lettuce wraps. Fortunately we have a local grower with a hothouse, so the heads of romaine should keep coming our way this winter. The meat of this dish is usually pork or chicken; I have some locally-made tempeh in the freezer that is awaiting its turn as well. This week I used 2 chicken thighs, and marinated them in soy sauce,

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-38169330656794296762008-12-08T18:16:00.000-08:002008-12-08T18:32:05.312-08:00

Oops, I am behind in posting! I blame it on Neverwinter Nights: Storm of Zehir. I've been glued to it for days. This week's meal is my number one comfort food: creamed chipped beef on toast. My mom always made it from scratch when I was a kid, but in recent years I have come to rely on the Stouffer's version. I know it violates the "no processed food" rule, but I usually only eat it when I'm

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-61686778705033715492008-11-26T12:43:00.001-08:002008-11-26T13:34:15.461-08:00

Okay, after saying I was going to avoid the meat-squash-veggie-potato pattern of meals, my next Dark Days meal falls into that category. Almost. (No pictures because they were *really* terrible.) A protein did take center stage, and it was boneless sirloin pork chops in an Asian marinade. I seared them with a heavy coat of five-spice powder then added some soy sauce, ginger, and citrus juice (

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-62093352456317991552008-11-21T10:09:00.000-08:002008-11-21T10:34:02.052-08:00

Wow, I really am behind! The Dark Days Eat Local Challenge started on the 15th, eep! Fortunately I have a fantastic and brand-new meal to rave about, complete with a strange and (almost) artfully blurry photo! This simple and delicious meal featured the autumn sausage (with apples and maple) from our local farmer/butcher shop, Blue's Creek. It was "loose" (or whatever you call casing-free

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-345348730771376022008-11-15T18:12:00.000-08:002008-11-21T10:36:29.617-08:00

I am woefully behind in blogging. I still have meals from the October challenge to dig out of the camera or from the dim reaches of memory, along with any number of other things I've meant to post about. Life has been a little too exciting in the Chinese sense, and I hope things will get sorted out soon. Local eating fell a bit by the wayside in the wake of various health issues, and I did a few

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-8121163824890040152008-10-19T17:11:00.000-07:002008-10-19T17:33:10.962-07:00

Eating fell by the wayside last week, as I endured a hideous bout of insomnia and its associated physical woes. Fortunately I am feeling better and even sleeping a bit like a normal person (well, as close as I get, which isn't very.) A few notable meals from the camera: Here we celebrated the end of summer with a jerk chicken thigh (we are getting by with very small meat portions these days),

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-12311957383874444552008-10-06T13:12:00.000-07:002008-10-06T13:52:17.593-07:00

I really thought I'd be keeping better track of my meals! I have been taking photos at the very least, so I will take you on a journey of some of the meals from the past week. Thursday night was pasta night, with spinach linguine from Pastaria at the North Market, marinara sauce from cherry tomatoes from the garden, shitaake mushrooms from Toby Run (NM Farmer's market), grated mozzarella cheese

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-84364628218959897762008-10-01T14:17:00.001-07:002008-10-01T14:36:34.828-07:00

I thought I'd begin with a photo of a usual fall breakfast ingredients here at Green Leanings. The oatmeal is from Stutzman farms in Millersburg, Ohio - 84.5 miles from my home. They also make cereals with puffed corn and spelt, and I'll be adding those to the breakfast roster as the month goes on. The maple sugar (best thing ever!) is from Pleiades Maple Farm in Mt. Gilead, Ohio (~43 miles),

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-62547096631144749502008-09-28T09:20:00.000-07:002008-09-28T10:01:45.242-07:00

It's almost time for the Eat Local Challenge! This is my second time participating, and I'm quite looking forward to it. We're a month later this year, so I'm interested to see how that impacts my food choices. Here is my statement of participation:1. What is your definition of local? I'm going to go with the 100-mile radius. At this point in my adventures as a locavore (one and one-half years)

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-4534097947796654172008-09-22T20:00:00.000-07:002008-09-22T20:27:45.680-07:00

Okay, so I haven't been so good with the updating. I could blame it on Hurricane Ike (which gave Ohio a pretty thorough spanking) or on the green beans (have I put up enough to last the winter?) but instead I shall throw out some mea culpas and try to be better. This past weekend was so amazing that it will take several posts to cover it all! Farmer's marketing, the Ohio Fish and Shrimp Festival

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-25567959260014961582008-09-01T13:35:00.000-07:002008-09-01T13:47:22.579-07:00

It's the final week! This dinner was a vegan tribute to Debbie, the coordinator for the Midwest for this challenge. (Thank you for all of your hard work!) It was a simple dish, served warm, and was somewhere between a stew and a salad. Local black beans teamed up with onions, bi-color corn, and grape and pear tomatoes from the garden. The only non-local ingredients were the oil (for sweating the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-78036463163714456522008-08-22T12:13:00.000-07:002008-09-28T09:56:02.774-07:00

I didn't get a chance to photograph this week's meal, so I thought I would include some gratuitous cuteness for your pleasure. The black cat is Jinx, ans the vision of fluffiness is Mr. Grey. This week's meal entry was a totally local chicken gumbo! It included chicken breast and chicken chorizo, corn, onions, green pepper, garlic, tomatoes, celery, thyme and okra. Non-local additions were salt,

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-13459597070390230902008-08-17T15:50:00.000-07:002008-09-28T09:53:24.493-07:00

This week's meal featured pole beans from the garden, chicken wrapped in bacon, corn on the cob (we aren't tired of it yet!) and the cutest little baby red thumb potatoes. Non-local ingredients were olive oil, red pepper flakes (to jazz up the pole beans) and salt and pepper. We have actually had local meals every day this week, but I didn't take pictures of them all! We had pizza yesterday,

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-72397318480675491662008-08-10T16:10:00.001-07:002008-09-28T09:53:47.829-07:00

Can you believe it is already week 10? The summer has flown by. I'm finally home from my travels, which means it is time to buckle down and start putting up food - and get back to having lovely local meals! This week's meal is a chicken thigh roasted with garam masala; potatoes, onions and pole beans pan-fried with cumin and coriander; eggplant, garlic and grape tomatoes cooked in garam masala

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-70242368781915781932008-07-29T20:22:00.000-07:002008-09-28T09:54:13.393-07:00

Happy summer everyone! I am home for a few days before heading off to my next tent-related adventure (this time I'll be at Pennsic.) I have managed to hit a couple of markets and picked up some lovely produce - so lovely that I must spend part of tomorrow putting up corn and peaches. This week's OLS meal was a quick-and-simple one: roasted chicken thighs with BBQ seasoning, corn on the cob, and

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-13307057923053002592008-07-21T19:55:00.000-07:002008-07-21T20:08:28.706-07:00

I'm not sure why I spell yoghurt like I do, if I picked it up from British English or it's just the way that I say it. It makes sense to me, even though my spell checker hates it. Anyway, anyone with any type of interest in yoghurt should hie themselves over to the Saudi Aramco World web page to read the wonderful article entitled Of Yogurt and Yörüks. Yörüks are a nomadic Turkish people. It is a

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-35495097863951107142008-07-12T11:02:00.000-07:002008-07-12T11:16:08.911-07:00

I should be driving to upstate New York right now, but instead I have to pause here and say: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The Top Chef tour was in town today, and I managed to get the very last seat in the first demo. We had Hung Huynh and Richard Blais as the chefs, and they were both in the kitchen during the short pair of demos (each did one dish.) Hung made an Asian shrimp dish with

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-1020705501091935412008-07-11T15:38:00.000-07:002008-09-28T09:54:40.660-07:00

This week's meal featured meat cakes! Roughly based on the idea from here, my version is basically a flat, round meatloaf (this time I made it with sweet onions and an egg from Elizabeth Telling Farm) which is then topped with mashed potatoes (these were lightly mashed red thumb potatoes, which were a lovely shade of pink) and bacon sprinkles. The meat cake has become a staple in our house, a

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-67741003219302039032008-07-11T15:30:00.000-07:002008-09-28T09:55:09.112-07:00

This week's designated meal was a main course of BLT's (well, okay, they were actually "BL's" because I don't like tomato on sandwiches) with corn on the cob and zucchini capaccio, based on Eric Ripert's excellent blog recipe at at Avec Eric. The bacon was from Blues Creek, zucchini from Paige's Produce, and corn from... well, I forget the farm's name but it was grown in Circleville Ohio (~40

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-90227774954725973652008-07-11T15:16:00.000-07:002008-07-11T15:32:11.518-07:00

I'll be off living in a tent for the next few weeks, without internet access. (I know, the mind boggles!) So I will be posting a few of the meals I have been collecting, to cover me while I'm gone.This week's meal featured BBQ chicken (chicken from North market Poultry, sauce from City BBQ), green beans (Bird's Haven Farm) with scallions (Just This Farm) and butter (my own homemade!) and potatoes

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-13497855684288986212008-07-08T16:43:00.000-07:002008-07-08T17:07:35.584-07:00

I ventured over the the new Columbus Square Farmer's Market today, as it is quite close to my house and much closer than the morning market in Pearl Alley (through some weirdness with the city the Pearl Alley Grower's Association doesn't do the Pearl Alley market anymore.) It did, however, require that I miss out on the samosas and chai from Pearl Alley, which is quite a sad thing. I missed the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-25458961772159410482008-07-07T09:37:00.001-07:002008-07-07T09:41:12.595-07:00

This week's meal was a vegetarian pasta dish. I even skipped the cream sauce this week! Fresh linguine from the North Market met olive oil, roasted grape tomatoes (roasted in the toaster oven with olive oil, salt and pepper), english peas, shitake mushrooms, garlic and fresh basil. This week's salad included cucumbers, plum purple radishes (my favorite radish ever) and more grape tomatoes.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-32450954552334038022008-06-27T13:19:00.000-07:002008-06-29T12:09:42.441-07:00

This week I learned that I am terrible at cooking steak. I understand the theory and all (I've read my McGee and watched Top Chef contenders cook steaks in a variety of ways) but I have this deep-seated fear that it (all meat, really) will be underdone, so I tend to overcook it. Too many years as a vegetarian, perhaps. As this was my first attempt at cooking steak I should probably cut myself a

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-82827658600467527642008-06-27T09:49:00.000-07:002008-06-27T10:00:17.142-07:00

Why is it that no one carries organic cultured buttermilk? I've given up on local stuff, I just want some that is both organic and cultured. Looks like I have to drive all the way to Whole Foods in Dublin for it. I have struck out at several regular groceries as well as my co-op and Raisin Rack. Color me frustrated. What does one do with cultured buttermilk? Well, you can use it to make creme

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-53854595843971211222008-06-16T20:08:00.000-07:002008-06-16T20:18:06.536-07:00

It's that time again! No picture this week, as I was hungry and dinner was a little less than lovely. Tonight's OLS meal was a stir-fry of veggies and mushrooms with one breast of chicken (shared between two people.) One of my goals is to reduce our meat consumption, which has gone up a little since we discovered humanely-raised local meat. Being able to stretch one small chicken breast (really a

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-47955821385975149542008-06-14T08:24:00.000-07:002008-06-14T08:39:05.879-07:00

I actually wrote down prices today, so I will include them. I swore I wouldn't buy too much this week, since I am leaving for Chicago on Thursday and will be working 14 hour days until then. But alas, I could not resist!Snap peas (finally) 2 X $3 (a pint, I think)snow peas $3/pint hakurei turnips $2plum purple radish $2garlic scapes $2green onions $2shitake/oyster mushroom mix $5strawberries

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-24293913638666595822008-06-13T16:09:00.001-07:002008-06-13T16:16:00.427-07:00

I picked this up Wednesday at the Westerville market. The girl said the variety was red sails, but I think it might be red frills (or so says my google image search.) When I caught sight of it I said, "I don't know what it is but I want it!" Something that colorful has to be good for you, right? :-) We were going to have it for a dinner salad tonight, but I ran out of steam. Dinner ended up

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-1206601694898070942008-06-13T15:07:00.001-07:002008-06-14T12:10:29.780-07:00

This week's challenge meal featured these lovely calypso beans: Dinner was calypso beans with green garlic and chorizo, braised greens with green garlic, plus a salad of mixed lettuce, snow peas, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and French breakfast radishes. The dressing was a homemade creamy peppercorn with a spice mix from Penzey's. Non-local ingredients were salt, pepper, and most salad dressing

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-51633852877805661652008-06-08T11:44:00.000-07:002008-06-12T11:02:29.850-07:00

Never mind me, I'm thinking out loud. My fridge is pretty full, and there are a number of fruit, vegetable and dairy issues that must be dealt with ASAP. So pardon me while I do a little thinking out loud (which doubles as a lesson on menu planning for locavores, so I hope it's not too boring.) Dinner tonight: beans and greens and things (calypso beans, braising greens, chorizo, green garlic),

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-79765196608624903112008-06-07T07:34:00.000-07:002008-06-07T08:32:27.660-07:00

I've been a bit lax with the marketing reports! Strawberry season is in full swing here, and my fridge is packed full. I need to make strawberry granita this weekend. I made yogurt last week and have been eating a nice big bowl of local strawberries, yogurt, and granola for breakfast every morning. Today's other finds included a mix of shitake and oyster mushrooms (destined for risotto), spinach

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-12702770264788874282008-06-01T15:13:00.000-07:002008-06-01T19:18:36.865-07:00

Tonight I made a pasta dish, inspired by a recent post from Laura at (not so) Urban Hennery. It is based on a recipe from Nigel Slater, and it involves cooking bacon in butter. It sounded so wonderfully insane that I had to try it. I added in a few extras from the market this week, and produced the best creamy pasta sauce I've ever made. Creamy pasta with bacon and spring market finds: baby

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-79584743073076192382008-05-21T13:14:00.000-07:002008-05-21T18:19:58.775-07:00

I took photos of this strawberry. I tried to make them nice photos. I used different lighting. I took great pains to avoid getting the clutter of my house in the background. And now my computer (the one with the photo software) won't boot. Grrrr. Instead I present you with a crappy cell phone photo of the event. In the interest of full disclosure, it wasn't really the first strawberry of summer.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-1964330805385299752008-05-20T17:15:00.000-07:002008-06-06T07:56:08.231-07:00

(I just learned how to put the link into the button. The real trick will be doing it twice!)

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-8965776329045209952008-05-19T16:43:00.000-07:002008-05-19T17:19:20.636-07:00

Boy, am I behind on market reports! Two weekends ago I had a marvelous score at the Worthington Farmer's market: dried beans! We have a dearth of shelling beans at the markets around here, so finding that Pop and Judy had a whole slew of varieties was pretty darn thrilling! I bought soybeans, black turtle, calypso (black and white), soldier, stuben, and light (pink floyd) and dark (red ryder)

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-45437731539022148912008-05-13T13:30:00.000-07:002008-05-14T12:17:39.134-07:00

First of all, a little information about my garden: we've got snap peas, lettuce, arugula, and spinach planted in existing beds along the patio. With the exception of the spinach, they are doing well. The snap peas aren't getting as much sun as they'd like, but they are planted along the fence to improve the soil in that bed. I also have pots full of herbs: the giant one has tarragon, sage,

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-6651456635552974032008-05-03T10:44:00.000-07:002008-05-03T11:28:08.116-07:00

Today was the Cinco d'Ohio festival at the North Market, which marks the official start of the farmer's market season. A number of the vendors were selling things other than vegetables, but I guess it is still a bit early in the season for most farmers. That did not, however, prevent us from bringing home a large haul. The items I am most excited about are: FISH!!! Locally produced fish, no

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-26250009929702004482008-04-12T08:03:00.000-07:002008-05-03T19:17:06.170-07:00

Despite the impending white doom falling from the sky (well, rain and snow mix through Monday night) it appears that spring has sprung. The forsythia are blooming like crazy and most of the shrubbery is in leaf. My seeds starters are mostly doing well (except for a few stubborn varieties) and I can't wait to get them out to the garden. The pole beans win the "coolest-looking sprouting plant"

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-22054019314075261622008-04-05T17:20:00.001-07:002008-04-05T17:31:41.234-07:00

We headed to the North Market this morning to scope out the farmer's market situation. This should be the time of year that the farmers come trickling back in, and lo! We did indeed see our first farmer! Combs Fresh Herbs were there, with some wintered-over radicchio and spinach as well as forsythia and pussy willow branches and other assorted plant material. We bought some of each of the edibles

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-80887045616511617782008-04-04T15:16:00.000-07:002008-04-04T15:29:02.435-07:00

One thing that local eating has taught me is that sometimes, in fact a lot of the time, making food from scratch is both completely worth it and not that difficult. My cooking skills and repertoire have certainly expanded over the last year! Tonight I conquered my fear of pie crust. I had leftovers from a roast chicken and some assorted veggies on hand, along with a bit of gravy - and what could

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-12107211149924406722008-03-31T16:26:00.000-07:002008-04-02T13:48:07.253-07:00

Can you believe it is almost spring? Still not a bud to be seen, and my crocuses haven't bloomed yet, but it is technically spring. My seeds are beginning to sprout, and I look forward to planting a new, bigger garden this year (but I am not looking forward to digging a new bed, nope, not one bit.) Since the Dark Days Challenge ends this week, I have decided to slide into home plate with some old

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-35356471960988066972008-03-27T18:51:00.000-07:002008-03-27T18:57:18.218-07:00

I occasionally phone my mom with new additions to my baby book; they tend to be things like "baby's first car wreck" or "baby's first therapy."Today it was baby's first omelet.Okay, so that is technically not exactly true. I ate a few bites of a very runny mushroom omelet when I was in France during high school, but it was accomplished with much gagging and the making of faces (I was serious when

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-77135607241633522162008-03-25T13:32:00.000-07:002008-03-25T13:48:01.481-07:00

Yesterday I made what was almost chicken piccata. I pounded the heck out of the chicken breasts from the North Market (they were a little too thin for butterflying) and dredged them in flour, cooked them to a lovely golden color, then made a sauce with the stock from the North Market, butter from Hartzler's and a lemon (not local, but from a local grocer.) I was set to add the capers when I

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-79437072627132274612008-03-22T17:02:00.000-07:002008-03-25T13:26:00.383-07:00

We got up early this morning and headed to the North market, in part to get in practice for the farmer's market season, and in part to see if anyone had ventured out yet (The market starts in April, but a few farmers had mentioned coming before that for a Saturday or two.) They hadn't (except for the guy from Gypsy Bees, who had a table inside) but we didn't let that slow us down. We started

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-5329219086606275282008-03-09T18:49:00.000-07:002008-03-10T12:33:31.381-07:00

Yup, it's easy to eat locally when you're at a level 2 snow emergency. I didn't manage to take pictures today, as we were busy with shoveling. Okay, so I couldn't do much of the shoveling, but I tried! It warmed up today so the snow was all heavy and wet, and having a cold/asthma/out-of-joint collarbone is not conducive to shoveling.No snow blower here at Green Leanings! We only had two meals

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-90383520263489939692008-03-08T19:40:00.000-08:002008-03-08T20:21:49.205-08:00

We've had 20.4 inches of snow in the last two days, plus drifts. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow, if I can stop coughing long enough to shovel. Where are the money-hungry flocks of children with shovels when you need them? I was very sad that the snow storm coincided with our winter market (which was apparently canceled.) Now I must wait 2 weeks for more spinach and lettuce and onions (

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-10257618294642031962008-03-07T18:41:00.000-08:002008-03-07T19:09:15.935-08:00

Life has been a little too exciting chez Green Leanings. First of all, we both have contracted the plague, aka a really nasty upper respiratory bug. I am pretty much coughing non-stop, and my partner is just getting sick. Yesterday evening a guy from the gas company came out to investigate "a non-flammable intensity gas smell" near the meter (that was mentioned 4 months ago by a meter reader.) No

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-51972552086880253572008-03-02T16:08:00.000-08:002008-03-03T15:58:27.145-08:00

It is with great sadness that I report that we have eaten the last of the peaches. They were tasty, though. They somehow managed to be both brown and over lemon-juiced, though (I suspect I didn't add the juice until too late; it was the first batch I put up.) However, they made an excellent brunch. I mixed up the last of the pancake mix from Quiver Full Farm (Asheville, Ohio) and added a few

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-58396576127658438952008-02-27T16:18:00.000-08:002008-02-27T16:43:23.838-08:00

I completely spaced on posting for the last few weeks, something about crazy work and traveling. We did enjoy some local meals, most notably brunch-food (bacon, eggs, homefries) and other things I have completely forgotten. Tonight I revisited one of my fall favorites: pork chops with apples and onions. The apples (Granny Smith) cooked up into mush, but the tart flavor was still good. I used

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-39788948471206695802008-02-05T16:18:00.000-08:002008-02-05T17:12:01.955-08:00

Last week I broke in my new all-clad pan by cooking the chuck roast (actually a chuck blade steak, I think) with some local onions and carrots, along with a couple of non-local celery tops. I shredded the beef into a gravy (made from the cooking liquid) and added the onions and carrots back in. To go along with it I cooked the last of the Brussels sprouts (pan fried with some leeks) and

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-41107035696381533112008-01-27T19:01:00.000-08:002008-01-28T10:05:51.596-08:00

Another wonderful weekend of local eating! Our winter market was on Saturday, and we beat the crowds and stocked up with mesclun salad mix, baby spinach, scallions, radishes, potatoes, apples, eggs, and a wonderful loaf of whole wheat bread with sunflower seeds.Saturday night I turned some more of our grass-fed ground beef into meatballs (which, despite baking them this time, were still not

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-67169119068181606662008-01-25T15:20:00.002-08:002008-01-25T16:46:11.999-08:00

Here is one of our "funny kitties." (We were trying to decide what the cats thought about these strange creatures at the back door, and somehow, "that's a funny-looking kitty!" became the answer. And thus the term "funny kitty" was born.)I am very excited to tell you all that I was one of the prize winners for Chez Pim's Menu for Hope! Not just any prize, but the droolworthy All-Clad 6-quart

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-62619792159392930442008-01-11T17:44:00.000-08:002008-01-11T18:06:47.208-08:00

The cat of the day is Mr. Grey, who decided to live here a number of years ago. He has the most beautiful markings on his face, and the most annoying habit of poking the humans in the face when they're asleep. The past few weeks have featured meals that will sound familiar to readers of this blog. The soup I made this week was new though! I dug through the veggies in the freezer and the storage

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-36434000578783024302007-12-30T11:30:00.000-08:002007-12-30T11:54:03.451-08:00

Most of the local eating this week has featured local foods combined with leftovers from family gatherings (making it difficult to stick to the 90% rule, but wasting food seems silly.) Mothers will send home leftovers! I've noticed that some of the people around me have started taking notice of where there food comes from, and I am quite happy with that.For Christmas eve I roasted a chicken from

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-31174089467304312572007-12-24T11:48:00.000-08:002007-12-24T11:54:07.753-08:00

Polycarbonate bottles were in the headlines in Yahoo health news today.I switched to a Kleen Kanteen a few weeks ago, and I do like it. I noticed a metallic taste in the first or second use but it hasn't returned (and I use it almost every day). I especially like the sturdiness of it - I almost bought a Sigg water bottle, but I didn't think it would hold up to the kind of abuse I'm likely to dish

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-25024774229659335332007-12-21T17:43:00.000-08:002007-12-24T11:55:09.626-08:00

Ten weeks already! Hard to believe that it's almost the end of December.This week I tried my hand at making meatballs. They were "mostly local," containing some parmigiano reggiano cheese and bread from the grocery store bakery. The meat, eggs, and milk (used to soak the bread) were all local. The mixture ended up being way too mushy, but the extra moisture did ensure that the grass-fed beef

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-76281473221687199442007-12-15T11:11:00.000-08:002007-12-15T11:39:27.766-08:00

It's a snowy, snowy day here in central Ohio. I'm glad we made it to the market early; sadly the trip to the tree farm will be postponed until the roads clear up. I was hoping to find Xmas trees at the North Market; instead I found two of the organic farmers and the honey guy were there! I got some rainbow chard, purple potatoes, eggs, arugula, and a frisee/raddichio blend. I bought a number of

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-35187712326600782302007-12-05T19:28:00.000-08:002007-12-05T20:09:52.547-08:00

Two meals this week, to make up for last week's busyness! On Monday I made a lovely dinner of pan-roasted chicken breasts with gravy, mashed potatoes, delicata squash with butter and honey, and Brussels sprouts with leeks and butter. (Non-local ingredients were seasonings, olive oil, and a little flour and bouillon for the gravy.) I have to say that the Brussel sprouts with leeks were

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-84127678976328822332007-12-05T12:21:00.000-08:002007-12-05T12:23:53.474-08:00

Think about all of the bottled water that you see for sale in the stores. Now think about the fact that all of those bottles are manufactured, shipped (using a great deal of fossil fuel), and usually tossed in the trash. About 10% are recycled, but recycling requires a great deal of energy – which usually comes from fossil fuels. Bottles thrown into the trash are either burned (releasing toxic

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-66789207250923009622007-12-02T18:37:00.000-08:002007-12-02T18:48:08.636-08:00

I missed the recap this week, and since I was incredibly busy I didn't do much in the way of cooking this past week. I did learn how NOT to make curried pumpkin soup: don't experiment with the whole batch; don't toss in too much Thai red curry paste; don't add an apple, thinking that sweet will counteract the hot; and definitely do not add some heavy cream to try to save it. That last step really

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-32148725027747484762007-11-24T16:57:00.000-08:002007-11-24T20:38:41.270-08:00

I have to confess that I totally suck at taking photos of food. I'm reading a few articles to improve my technique, but until I get some portable lights I will spare you my attempts. Instead I will post the occasional cat photos, because my cats are awfully cute. They all wish they could dine locally on the birds, squirrels, and occasional mouse that visit our home. (The cat pictured here is

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-35947581161954157622007-11-22T20:21:00.000-08:002007-12-18T12:06:56.423-08:00

I just did a squash inventory in the garage. I have 21 squash! Seven of those fall into the "huge" category, including three marina de chioggia pumpkins, two French pumpkins, a hubbard and an enormous spaghetti squash. The squash tally was prompted by plummeting temperatures and my newest root cellaring project (which is to wrap apples in newspaper and store them in a cardboard box.) I'll need to

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-161365500129999382.post-42119574164479977122007-11-14T21:29:00.000-08:002007-11-14T21:45:34.981-08:00

We had a lovely local meal tonight. I was feeling a bit under the weather so I defrosted some pumpkin soup (made with a marina de chioggia pumpkin) and doctored it up with a carrot and plenty of garlic, along with some skim milk and grated Gouda cheese. My pot of herbs is still hanging on, so I was able to add some fresh thyme and chives. Non local ingredients were salt, pepper, and a little

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06678407174139903708noreply@blogger.com0