Eat Local Challenge update

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), corn on the cob, broccoli, sweet potato fries, and roasted cherry tomatoes. Next we have lettuce wraps with pork and carrot, along with some broccoli in brown sauce with sesame. Normally we'd have scallions and rice noodles in the lettuce wraps as well, but I forgot the scallions and we were out of the decidedly non-local rice noodles.
Next up is a barbecued chicken thigh with roasted purple viking potatoes, corn on the cob, and Brussels sprouts.

The next two items are a little blurry:
Here we have a pear poached in homemade grape juice; I reduced the poaching liquid to make a sauce, and was clearly in a hurry to eat it.
This is a very typical brunch of pancakes with raspberries (red and amber) and a side of peppered bacon.

And tonight's dinner was pan-roasted chicken breasts with garden herbs under the skin; mashed kennebec potatoes, steamed broccoli, and roasted *somethingmumblesomething* sweet potato squash with butter and maple sugar. (I forget the full name of the variety, but it is an odd heriloom.) And don't forget that pan gravy! I made extra so I can make a batch of chicken and noodles this week.

Eat Local Challenge - days 2 through 5

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 from Blue Jacket Dairy (~58 miles in Bellefontaine, Ohio), and garlic bread (with wheat bread from the Clintonville farmer's market.) I used the same marina sauce, bread and cheese to make a pizza-on-toast for lunch.

Friday was fish night! I am delighted to add locally-farmed trout to my menu this month. The fish is rainbow trout from Freshwater Farms of Ohio, which clocks in at 68.2 miles from my doorstep. This fillet came pre-seasoned with an orange-basil marinade. Side dishes were braised rainbow chard with leeks, roasted cherry tomatoes, and roasted delicata squash with maple syrup (which didn't fit on the plate.)

Saturday was market day, and I had a very simple lunch of fried cheese (again from Blue Jacket Dairy) and Asian pears from Gillogly Orchards (104 miles by car, but still in the 100-mile radius as the crow flies.) For dinner we attended a local pizza function and were able to taste pizza from around 20 different local pizza shops.

Sunday brunch was french toast from that same loaf of bread from the Clintonville market, topped with non-local powdered sugar (hey, it was in the cupboard, and makes for happy french toast!) and local raspberries and maple syrup. Accompanying it, as usual, is peppered bacon from Bluescreek at the North Market.



Sunday dinner started with local vegetable soup (including broccoli, cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, cabbage, chard, zucchini, pattypan squash, carrots and celery) made with homemade stock. I didn't get a picture of it. The main meal was Italian sausage with the last of the grapes (wonderful fall flavors, seasoned with a little Balsamic vinegar) served over polenta made with fresh corn and goat cheese. Not very photogenic, but good nonetheless.

Eat Local Challenge - Day One

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), and the apple (variety: golden grimes) is from the orchards of Bill and Vicky Thomas in Philo, Ohio - approximately 73 miles. I peel and grate the apple into the oatmeal as it cooks, which doubles the volume and makes a great and healthy breakfast. A little maple sugar to sweeten and a sprinkle of cinnamon, and it's pure heaven.

Lunch today was leftover pork roast (from Bluescreek in Marysville, Oh, about 30 miles) with cider gravy from the aforementioned orchard. I also cooked an acorn squash from Elizabeth Telling farm, which is 115 miles by car (but still within the 100-mile radius) and drizzled it with maple syrup from Pleiades.

Tonight I am attending a cooking class at Columbus' historic North Market, so who knows how local the food will be. The market is home to Bluescreek meats, the Greener Grocer (emphasis on local produce) and other fine purveyors of local food, as well as a wonderful farmer's market on Saturday.

Since I will be eating at class tonight I decided to have the launch dinner last night, and it was a stir fry with a veritable plethora of local ingredients: chicken thighs, broccoli, edamame, yellow summer squash, shitake mushrooms, scallions (from the garden), carrots (3 varieties), and swiss chard. It was so full of veggies that we didn't even miss the rice! The chicken and most vegetables were purchased at - you guessed it - the North market.