Eating and living locally . . . mindfully . . . simply.
Seems that everyone is doing it, so I’ll jump in. Keep reading, though, I have a fun announcement at the end. My Foodie Resolutions I will eat as locally as possible within my budget. I will drink only local wine even though the three buck chuck is so very tempting. I will plan ahead so I don’t find myself getting Thai food takeout (locally owned) or Little Caesar’s (not) for dinner. I will take the time to make yogurt and {Read More}
Simply in Season says this can be made with fewer apples (it calls for FIVE cups), but if you’re making APPLE cake, I say go for the whole enchilada. So yeah, you’re going to need to get out three bowls. In one, you’ll need to put 5 cups of apples (unpeeled and chopped; it didn’t say to core them, but I figured I should. My dogs love cores anyway) and 1 1/3 C sugar. Combine and go on to bowl {Read More}
Carrots: Not just for veggie trays anymore! Souper healthy, souper good. (Get it? Soup?) Another home run from Simply in Season. I only had 1 1/2 pounds of carrots left, so I adjusted the quantities accordingly. In a large soup pot, saute’ 1/2 onion (chopped), 1 clove garlic, and a stalk of celery (chopped, optional) in a splash of olive oil until soft. Chop 1 1/2 lbs of carrots (you can also substitute sweet potatoes or winter squash, but I {Read More}
Can I just say, my new food processor is wicked fast? This recipe was perfect for testing it out. I was a bit skeptical when I saw this recipe in the Main Dishes section of Simply in Season. Potatoes, butter, cheese . . . didn’t really seem like a main dish. So I decided to make it when meat-requiring DH wouldn’t be home for dinner. Lunchtime today presented such an occasion, as I am home on a much-needed vacation day. {Read More}
I was so excited to try this dish from Simply in Season, because I LOVE the sausage from Cresswick. I decided to make this my Dark Days Challenge post for the week since almost all the ingredients are local. Begin by piercing 4-6 links of sausage, and brown in a wide saucepan on medium-high, turning often, 5-7 minutes. You’ll probably need to add some oil so it doesn’t stick. Remove from pan. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 C {Read More}
In the Sausage and Apples post, I mentioned that I had made Hot Pepper Jelly at my CSA’s canning class. I forgot to post it at the time (actually, not sure I had started the blog then), so I’m including the info here. This is a bit larger recipe than the one included in Simply in Season, but we did it as a group. If you’re going to can, I highly recommend doing it with a friend or several–it’s much {Read More}
Update 6/2: Now that strawberry season is upon us, why not go berry picking with the kids? Then have fun making yummy desserts and breads. I recently discovered a couple of sources for locally grown, frozen fruit. When I first started learning about the benefits of eating local, I thought that for sure I’d have to learn how (and remember!) to can, freeze, etc. I began last year with good intentions, but sadly didn’t end up preserving much. However, just {Read More}
For those keeping track of which Simply in Season recipes I’m making, I’m counting this towards the “Spring Greens Salad” recipe, which is a great template for salad. It suggests starting with 8 cups of leaf lettuce, baby spinach, or other salad greens, gives a list of potential toppings (note: I’m quite disappointed that mushrooms weren’t included), and 5 dressing recipes. Why am I making a spring salad in winter? I’m glad you asked. Recently I discovered this cool company {Read More}
It’s Christmas Eve Eve. While you may have had every intention of baking up a storm for gift baskets or making homemade liqueurs/mixes in a jar/homemade spice mixes, the bare-faced reality of it is that There. Is. Not. Enough. Time. Never fear, The Local Cook is here. Below are some ideas that don’t require exorbitant expedited shipping fees. If you are brave enough to venture out . . . head to your local: Bookstore: Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft {Read More}
If you read a lot of food blogs, like I do, you have probably come across all manner of cookies, cakes, candies, breads, drinks, and whatever else you can do with flour, butter, sugar, and cream these past few weeks. Like most Americans, you probably plan to make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, exercise more, and/or eat more healthfully. One of the things that bug me about the media is that they tend to sell quick fixes, as {Read More}
