Happy Home Update- Settling into that Winter Routine

Not a lot going on in the garden front here now that it's December, but I'm still trying to find ways to appreciate local foods and incorporate them into my diet! I've started receiving my Stone Soup CSA, which is a mix of root veggies and grains- it's been awesome so far! I'll have to share a picture of my new grain mill in an action in the next post; I made some yummy Pumpkin Muffins with local roasted pumpkins and locally grown, home milled whole wheat flour!

Here are some highlights of what I've been up to:

• Hitting my local Farmers' Market, which has expanded from every other week to each and every Tuesday in November and December- woohoo!
  
• Started back up on my annual Winter Routine of Saturday Local Grocery shopping, venturing out to the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market, the Food Cooperative there, to a locally-owned chain grocer (Busch's) and then to Whole Foods. I try to get as much local produce and products that I can from each stop!
  
• Exercising and really watching what I eat lately, and have lost some weight, which is great!
  
• Started another blog, where I can share all my new fitness interests, finds, & success!
  
• Changed Eating Habits- As a result of a more healthy and thoughtful diet, I've cut out a good deal of the grains and dairy products that I eat. I've had a lot more energy, and I can really tell the difference on a day when I over-indulge because I feel sluggish and my stomach is irritated!
  
• Trying out Juicing- Today I made homemade Carrot/Apple/Ginger juice thanks to a friend, who let me try out her juicer! Someone should probably just write a warning label on the cover of the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead dvd. After-effects of watching DVD could include but are not limited to: May cause one to research juicers online for 2 hours, may result in juicer purchasing/borrowing from a friend, will most likely cause you to make an Apple & Carrot-based juice, exalting it's nutritive properties for the next hour to whoever will listen. 

I'll be checking in early next week with a home grain milling demo and a product review of the hand mill I recently purchased! 

Potato Salad with Scallions and Dill

Today I'm going to share my FAVORITE potato salad recipe with you. It's simple, easy, fresh and light. It's also delicious!! I make it with whatever potatoes I have on hand- Russetts, fingerlings, Yukon Golds.. it's all good, my friends. It's modified from Ina Garten's recipe- over the years I have changed it and modified it to my liking.

Potato Salad with Scallions and Dill

Ingredients

• 6 medium potatoes (any kind will work)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard seed (optional)
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions/green onion

Directions

• Peel the potatoes and chop into 1" sized pieces. 
• Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of boiling water.
• Once potatoes are added, lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. 
• Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Allow the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk,  mustard, dill, chopped onions, 1 teaspoon of salt, and
  1 teaspoon of pepper, and coriander and mustard seed (optional). Set aside.
• When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, place the cut potatoes into the large bowl. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Serve and Enjoy!

Dark Days Challenge Recipe Week 12- White Beans & Rice (Fasooli)

I stumbled upon this yesterday as I was looking for a recipe that included Great Northern Beans, which is what I happened to have in my pantry. Usually I have to sneak beans into meals I make- I'm not a big fan of beans all on their lonesome. This recipe proves an exception to the rule- it features beans pretty prominently, and it turned out amazingly delicious. Maybe I was wrong about beans? Or maybe this recipe is just that good! The version below includes the few herbs that I added to season to my liking.

Fasooli- White beans and rice
Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

source: Carpenters Farm, Ann Arbor
2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped 

source: my backyard garden
3 cups cooked great northern beans 

source: Michigan, 150 mile radius
1 can tomato paste

source: Eden Foods, Clinton MI
3 cups filtered water
3 cups basmati rice, cooked

source: far away, purchased Ypsi Food Co-op
2 to 3 teaspoons sea salt

source: far away, purchased Ypsi Food Co-op

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 

source: my backyard garden

1/2 teaspoon cumin

source: far away, purchased Ypsi Food Co-op

Directions:

• Over medium heat, saute onions in olive oil. After a few minutes, add garlic. Stir frequently. Let onions saute until transparent and soft.
• In a 4 cup measuring cup, mix tomato paste with water until smooth.
• Add great northern beans, spices and tomato paste/water mixture to pot. Taste, adjust seasonings if necessary. Simmer to heat all ingredients thoroughly.
• Turn off heat. Serve over basmati rice.

Serve and Enjoy!

Dark Days Challenge Week 11- Soba Noodle Soup with winter veggies

 

Soba Noodle Soup with winter veggies

Ingredients:

10oz buckwheat soba noodles
source: Eden Foods, Clinton MI
1 cup fresh spinach
source: Growing Hope Urban Farm, Ypsi MI
1 cup Pacific Natural organic vegetable broth
source: (purchased from Co-op) Oregon, USA
1 large carrots, diced
source: my garden- storage from root cellar
2 small onions
source: Carpenter's Farm, Ann Arbor,  MI
1 garlic clove, minced
source: my garden

Directions:

• Add vegetable broth to a small pot
• Drop chopped carrots, onions, and garlic into the pot
• Bring mixture to a boil
• Add the soba noodles, and reduce heat to simmer
• Let soup simmer for 12-14 minutes, until noodles are tender
• Lastly, chop spinach into bite-sized pieces and add to soup
• Season as desired- I add pepper and nanami togarashi (japanese mixed chili peppers)

Serve and Enjoy!

Dark Days Challenge Week 10- Spinach & Feta Salad

This is so easy, I know. But if you can find local spinach at your Farmers' Market or Co-op, this is a super-quick, easy dinner that is just simple and delicious. It's been one of my favorite dishes to throw together at the end of a long day, and it has everything one could want- lots of greens, a little bit of cheese, some texture from the nuts and apples. Spinach should be available in a lot of northern places by now, and this is a great salad to feature it in!

Spinach & Feta Salad

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh spinach
source: Ferris Farm, Dixboro, MI
1 2" block of Feta Cheese
source: Greystone Creamery, Chelsea MI
2 handfuls Dried cranberries
source: MI cranberries dried at Ypsi Food Co-op
3/4 cup walnuts
source: California :(

1 cup sliced Golden Delicious Apples

source: Wassem's Fruit Farm, Milan, MI

   


Directions:

• Chop up Spinach, dice apples, crush walnuts, crumble Feta cheese
• Mix together in a large bowl, and add dried cranberries and dressing of your choice.

 Serve & Enjoy!

Dark Days Challenge Week 9- Homemade Crescent Rolls

Something I've always lusted after, food-wise, is Crescent Rolls. The only ones I've really ever known are the Pillsbury pop-and-peel kind. They always seem like some sort of weird chemistry experiment to me- the container needs to be popped, and then you peel out this weird chunk of dough that is perforated?

I love them all the same, but wanted to find a healthier, homemade, SOLE (Sustainable, Organic, Local, Ethical) option. So here it is!

Homemade Crescent Rolls

Ingredients: (Makes 32 rolls)
3 1/2 cups flour
source: Westwind Milling Co., 50 miles
2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
source: Mexico? I need a better source for this!
1/3 cup water, warm
source: ya know- the tap
3/4 cup milk, warm
source: Calder's Dairy, 50 miles

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

source: grown in the US of A

2 eggs

source: Baer Poultry Farm, 50 miles
1 tsp salt
source: far away, purchased from Ypsi Food Co-op
4 tbsp butter, softened

source: Calder Dairy, 50 miles

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix flour with sugar and salt. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and add to the flour mixture. Add eggs and milk, then mix everything together. Add the butter and knead the dough until it is smooth. Cover with a clean towel and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm area, until doubled in size.

2. Punch down dough and divide into 2 equal parts. Form them into balls. *If you don't want to make a million crescent rolls all at once, now is the time that you should take one of the dough balls, wrap it in plasticwrap, and then wrap tightly in aluminum folil and freeze!*

On a floured surface roll each part into a 16 to 17 inch round, using a

rolling pin. With the back of a spoon, spread about 2 tbsp of very soft

butter onto the dough round. Using a pizza wheel, cut the

round into 16 triangles.

3. Start rolling each triangle into crescents, starting from the outside edge of the triangle. Once rolled, place on a greased baking tray with the tip tucked down and under the roll. Repeat rolling with the rest of the triangles. Let them rise for about 20 minutes. Melt additional butter and brush the tops of the rolls with it.

4. Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake for 14-18 minutes until puffy and golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack few minutes before serving, or just shove them into your mouth right away, which is what I did.

Dark Days Challenge- Gingered Carrot Soup

It's delicious. It's simple. It uses carrots, which are one of the few veggies you can still find in abundance in the Winter around here.

Gingered Carrot Soup!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

source: far away, purchased frm local food coop

1/2 cup minced onion

source: Downtown Ypsi Farmers Market

1/4 cup grated ginger
source: far away, purchased frm local food coop
2 cloves of garlic, minced

source: my backyard!

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

source: purchased from local food coop
4 cups sliced carrots
source: my backyard!

1/2 cup half and half or whole milk

source: Calder's Dairy, 50 miles or less

1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
source: far away, purchased from local food coop

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat.

Add onion, garlic, and ginger, and saute until onion is cooked

Now add chicken/veggie stock and the carrots as well

Cover and simmer until carrots are tender- should be about 30 minutes

Take the soup off of the stove and blend in the food processer

Return soup to pot, and add the half and half/whole milk & the cumin

Season to taste with salt, pepper, etc.

                                                               Serve and Enjoy!

Dark Days Challenge Week 8- Creamy Polenta

Polenta is easy to make, friends. Damn easy. I promise! Once you make it, it will seem silly to buy one of those pre-made polenta rolls from the grocery store. Polenta is quick to make, it's good, and it's a great host to veggies, meats, and lots of yummy toppings!

Week 8

Creamy Polenta

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

source: West Wind Milling Co, 50 mile radius

1 tbsp salt

source: not local

2 cups water

source: tap water, ya'll!

2 tbsp butter

source: Calder Dairy, 50 mile radius

Cornmeal for polenta

Directions:

• Get out a deep skillet or frying pan! 
• Add the 2 cups water, and set to a boil
• Once water is boiling, add the salt, then add the cornmeal
• Stir, and bring heat down to low
• Cook until mixture thickens and cornmeal is tender 
• Turn off the heat, and add butter. 
• Stir until butter is incorporated, and add thyme, oregano, rosemary, chives, etc. as desired

                                                    It's that easy. Plate, serve, and Enjoy!

Polenta topped with roasted root veggies

Dark Days Challenge Recipe: Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Holy crap, my friends! I want to testify that homemade gnocchi is dee-li-cious, and super easy to make. If you are asking yourself at this moment, "Great. What is gnocchi?", don't worry; I hadn't tried gnocchi until about 4 years ago, and it is an amazing food. It's essentially a little round potato-pasta-dumpling. What could you not love about that? For my Dark Days challenge this week, I borrowed a recipe from another participant, because these looked too good not to make. YOU are totally capable of making them, I promise. So without further ado;

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients: 
2 large sweet potatoes
source: local farm, 50 mile radius
1 egg
source: local farm, 50 mile radius
1.5-2 cups whole wheat flour
source: Westwind Milling Co., 50 mile radius
1 tsp nutmeg
source: not local, but sustainable
1/2 tbsp salt
source: not local, but sustainable
Directions:

• Steam or bake the sweet potatoes until they can be easily cut through with a knife. 
• Peel the sweet potatoes- they should be easily mushed once peeled
• Mash sweet potatoes and let cool for 10 mins
• Add the salt, nutmeg, and egg, and stir well
• Now add 1.5 cups flour, mixing continuously
• Knead into dough, add the extra flour as needed until dough does not stick to hands/counter
• Get a pot of boiling water ready on the stove
• Cut dough into quarters, and roll out each quarter into a long skinny log
• Now cut the log into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces
• Drop gnocchi into boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes; until every piece is floating

Serve with your favorite marina, pesto, or brown sugar and butter and enjoy!

Root Cellar is a success!!

These carrots look amazing!

I went out and spent some time mulling over the garden today, since all the snow has melted here and it's a breezy 40 degrees. We've had a warm spell here, which everyone is enjoying but I have been feeling suspicious of. Global-warming-induced higher temps are somehow less enjoyable then a truly fluke of a nice day.

looking good, spud.

Peak oil aside, while I was out in my yard today, I thought to check on the root cellar that I built, and the veggies that have been hanging out in the cold by the side of my house under one of the eaves; I hadn't peeked my head out there in a while!

To my delight, both the potatoes and the carrots looked GREAT! The potatoes were still firm and looked fresh, and the carrots had seemed to be holding up as nicely as the day I put them in there, which was October 9th!  While it has been a mild Winter so far, to be able to say that I can grow my own roots and store them for almost 4 months is just so satisfying and awesome.

carnival squashes-so happy & bright!

I also have a bag of onions I bought from the Farmers' Market 2-3 months ago that have been storing well, as well as some acorn squash from the end of October! The storing capability of these winter veggies is just truly amazing me lately. While I've been lax about actually cooking for the Dark Days Challenge, looking at other recipes has inspired me to steal some of their ideas, and really incorporate these winter veggies into delicious meals. The most delicious looking one I'm excited to try is homemade sweet potato gnocci- If I could make homemade gnocci I would consider myself to be a badass. A nerdy, seasonally-eating badass.

pretty impressive, huh? ;)

On my way back in the house, I noticed and then remembered that I had some small red kidney beans and some provider bush beans hanging to dry in the mudroom. I took them down and shucked the hulls off. I always chuckle to myself when I harvest these beans- I'm intent on drying them to save, and then when I'm done with a season of growing as well as several months of drying, I get done and I have about 60 beans total- woohoo! I think that I might save these and see if they could be my planting beans for this year's harvest.

Do you have anything put away for the winter? If so, are you digging into your winter veggies?

Dark Days Challenge- Week 6- Sweet Potato and Eggplant Curry

Evidently I can only handle doing a recipe post every 2-3 weeks- I've not been keeping up with the Dark Days Challenge like I planned to! I've been making meals and home and they are mostly locally sourced, but I keep forgetting to take pictures, and pictures make it so fun!

Today's recipe is mostly SOLE (Sustainable, Organic, Local, Ethical), and it's about 3/4 local. There are some key ingredients that are not in season or do not grow here in Michigan ever- eggplant, for instance, is not prolifically growing outdoors here in January. BUT, I chose to feature this recipe because:
a) it is F*$^ing delicious
b) it features sweet potatoes that I bought & have stored, as well as some other local ingredients
c) it is F*$^ing delicious :)

Without further ado..

Sweet Potato and Eggplant Green Curry (vegetarian)

main ingredients

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes 
source: Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers' Market- 50 mile radius
1 medium eggplant
source: Ypsilanti Food Co-op- grown in the USA
1 tablespoons olive oil
source: Westwind Milling Co- 45 mile radius
1 medium onion
source: homegrown!
1 1/2 cups light coconut milk
  source: far away, bought it from Ypsi Food Co-op

  2 tablespoons green curry paste

  source: far away, bought it from Ypsi Food Co-op
  75 cups water
  source: tap water
  2 tablespoons lime juice
  source: far away, bought it from Ypsi Food Co-op 
  2 teaspoons lime zest
  source: far away, bought it from Ypsi Food Co-op 
  2 sprigs cilantro
  source: far away, bought it from Ypsi Food Co-op 
  1 handful of corriander seeds, ground-up
  source: harvest from my cilantro over the summer and dried!
  1 tablespoon salt
  source: far away, bought it from Ypsi Food Co-op 
  2 teaspoons soft brown sugar
  source: far away, bought it from Ypsi Food Co-op 

Directions:

• Heat the 1 tbsp of Oil to medium in a large frying pan/ skillet
• Peel and chop the onion. Then add to the frying pan once hot
• Add the green curry paste and let it cook with the onions for several minutes
• Add the coconut milk and water into the pan, and bring liquid to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes
• Peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1" size pieces, and add to pan. Let cook for 10 minutes
• Chop eggplant, squeeze lime juice, zest lime, and add all to pan. Let cook for 10 minutes
• Grind up corriander and salt and add to pan, or add pre-ground spices
• Once veggies are tender, chop up the cilantro springs and add them to the pan. 
• Let the whole dish simmer for 10-15 minutes, then serve!

Dark Days Challenge Week 4- Potato and Leek Latkes (pancakes)

I'm not trying to make all of my Dark Days Challenge posts Potato themed, I promise! It's just that tonight is the first night of Chanukkah, and Potato Latkes are a MUST for celebrating Chanukkah. I'm a pretty non-practicing Jew, but I can still respect and appreciate my Jewish heritage, especially when it includes fried potatoes ;)

Historical perspective- 
Jews eat potato latkes on Chanukkah to remind us of the miracle of Chanukkah. The miracle entails the story of how the second temple was destroyed by the Assyrians in a fight for independence with the Maccabees (the Jewish "rebel" forces). The Jews searched the remains of the temple, and found only enough oil to light the menorah (candelabra that is never supposed to go out) for one day, but the oil lasted for 8 days, long enough to find more oil!  So Latkes are eaten (fried in oil) to commemorate the miracle that happened. Haha- now we will use so much oil!

Anyway, you can take that story to heart, or just make these little pancakes anyway: they're damn good.

Potato and Leek Latkes

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes
source: homegrown/Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers' Market- 50 mile radius
3 medium-large leeks
source: Valley Family Farms- 50 mile radius
6 tablespoons flour
source: Westwind Milling Co- 45 mile radius
1 large egg 
source: Carpenter Family Farms- 50 mile radius
2 cups oil
source: far away, but bought it from the local Co-op 
2 tbsp salt
source: also far
1.5 tbsp pepper
source: far!

Directions:

• Heat the 2 cups of Oil to medium-high in a large frying pan/ skillet
• Wash and Peel the potatoes. Then grate them onto a clean towel
• Press the moisture/liquid out of the Potatoes with the towel, then put the potatoes in a large bowl
• Wash and slice the Leeks into small pieces, and add them to the bowl
• Crack the Egg in a separate bowl and beat it, then add to large bowl 
• Add Salt and Pepper to the bowl as well, and mix everything
• Add Flour as needed, until the mixture thickens up
• Scoop 2-3 spoonfuls of potato mixture onto hot skillet, and let them sizzle and brown on each side, then transfer to a plate covered in a towel. 
• Let some of the oil drain off, then plate them with some sour cream and enjoy!

Dark Days Challenge: Week 1- Potato Soup

Potato Soup!

Here it is- my first Dark Days Challenge post! As a re-cap, as a participant in the Dark Days challenge, I am aiming to cook at least one meal each week featuring SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) ingredients. For this week, all of my ingredients are local and ethically sound. Can't completely vouch for sustainable but most of these ingredients can be grown at home or found on local farms, & I personally go for local/natural before I go for certified organic.

This recipe for potato soup is one of my go-to favorites in the winter. It's fairly quick, easy to prepare, and can be made using almost entirely season veggies. The only one that's not terribly seasonal is celery, and you could leave that out if you choose to!

Potato Soup

Ingredients: 
6 large potatoes, (or 12 medium/18 small)
source: homegrown/Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers' Market- 50 mile radius
3 large carrots
source: homegrown- my backyard
2 medium onions
source: Westside Farmers' Market- 50 mile radius
3 cloves garlic
source: Dyer Family Farms- 20 miles 
1 cup milk
source: Calder Dairy- 50 mile radius
2 tbsp butter
source: Calder Dairy- 50 mile radius
2 tbsp flour
source: Westwind Milling Company- 45 mile radius

Directions:

• Cut the potatoes into small, 1-2 inch pieces. Then slice carrots, onions and mince garlic.
• Boil 6 cups water in a large stock pot. Once water is boiling, add potatoes, carrots
• Place the butter in a small frying pan, once it starts to melt and bubble, add onions and garlic. Let onions brown a bit, then add the flour, and the milk to the pan. Stir all ingredients, then set aside.
• Once potatoes and carrots are tender, drain all water out of pot, but save 1 cup and set aside.
• Run the potatoes and carrots through a food processor, adding the water in with the veggies. Once veggies are nicely pureed, add them back to the large stock pot, and pour in milk/onion/garlic/butter/flour mixture.
• Stir soup until all ingredients are mixed, and let the soup cook down for 10 more minutes. 
• Add salt, pepper, rosemary to taste.

Serve soup and enjoy!

Dark Days Challenge- will you join me?

This year, I've decided to join with other garden/foodie bloggers in participating in the Dark Days Challenge! As part of this challenge, I'll be making at least one meal each week that featuring sustainable, organic, local, and ethical ingredients, and blogging about it to share with others! I think this will be a great way for me to strategically use some of the veggies I've been storing; potatoes, carrots, squashes, onions, and find new recipes and meals to feature them in! Please tune in here to check out the dishes I make- if you're interested in learning more, see below!

Dates                                                               
The challenge runs from Sunday, November 27th, 2011 to Saturday, March 31st, 2012.

What’s the Challenge? 
I will cook one meal each week featuring SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) ingredients, write about it on this blog and email a recap to the larger group on the Not Dabbling in Normal blog.

What does local mean?
Traditionally, local food challenges call for a 100 mile radius. Winter time is more difficult in many climates, especially if you’re new to eating locally, so my default winter definition is 150 miles. If you'd like to participate, you can choose to make your radius smaller or slightly larger as you need. Typical exceptions to the local requirement are oils, coffee, chocolate and spices. If you’re making fewer or more exceptions, please note that on your first post.

How do I sign up?
Head on over to (not so) Urban Hennery to find out more info and to sign yourself up if you'd like to participate as well!