Day 32

Breakfast Day 32: Toast & Raspberries

Lunch Day 32: Caesar steak salad in a pita, green & royal purple beans, carrots & raspberries

Dinner Day 32: Pastrami sandwich on homemade rye with cheese & onions, green beans, cucumbers & raspberries

I made a loaf of rye bread just so I could make pastrami on rye for dinner (I am not even sure that I like pastrami). Elliot and I went to Hilltop Harvest tonight. We bought three pints of pre picked raspberries. I would have loved to picked them myself but wasn’t sure how Elliot would do in the field & eventually opted for the easier option of pre picked. They did inform me that the raspberries were just about done. However, they will have pick your own raspberries again in the fall (mid August through mid September) check out their FaceBook page for details.

It turns out that I do in fact like pastrami (I found this at Moonstone Farm). I fried up some onions in a little butter and spicy mustard (weird, I know but Emeril Lagasse’s recipe said to do it this way), once things were good and brown I added the pastrami until it was warm. Then I piled all that on a piece of still warm from the oven rye bread topped that with Bongards’ pepperjack cheese and another slice of rye, grilled that until toasted. Can you say man sandwich? I am sure that Andy will be sad that he wasn’t home to enjoy this dinner! I really wasn’t too sure about the sandwich until after my first bite- YUM! This is a sandwich that will make again and again, maybe a little sauerkraut next time?

Today is the last official day of the Eat Local Challenge & I have mixed feelings about it… Kind of relieved that my meals will no longer be broadcast out to cyber space, and maybe I can stop baking so much bread & rolls. But, at the same time I am sad that the pressure is off the actually cook and healthy meal for myself and family, it was the extra push that I needed to get it done each night. We do still plan to visit markets, road side stands, farms and the like maybe with a little less intensity. We will still be eating local- why wouldn’t we, the gardens in Minnesota are just getting going; we are looking forward to tomatoes & peppers in the next few weeks & squash in the fall. I have some plans to do a bit of freezing and possibly some pickle making. At the same time, I also am looking forward to walking into my local grocery store and purchasing a loaf of bread for the pure sake of convenience. It was fun getting to know where our food is grown, the people who care for it and make it happen. It was also nice to get out on the road, off the beaten path and see parts of the area that I've never seen before. This project also was a gigantic lesion in home economics, cooking and baking 101 for me, thank goodness for my two bosses and their willingness to share their culinary wisdom with me! What’s on the menu for this week? A zucchini lasagna, making another batch of yogurt, zucchini muffins, a basketball size kohlrabi, and a stop or two at an area market. Hope to see you there!

Day 31

Breakfast Day 31: Whole wheat toast with SunButter & red raspberries from Karen’s Holmgrown of Winthrop

I received my first ever Dew Drop Gardens CSA delivery this morning! I even got some tips from Erin Grams on how to freeze broccoli. My box included garlic, chives, parsley, rhubarb, broccoli green beans & cucumbers

Lunch Day 31: Toasted cheese pita pocket, leftover zucchini boat, green beans & snap peas

Dinner Day 31: Left over steak, sautéed veggies (garlic, onion, carrots, zucchini, peas & beet greens), raspberries & PastureLand aged cheddar cheese

Today was the first day of the Olivia Farmers’ Market; at their new location in the Alco parking lot. There were four venders there with tons of great looking produce including basketball sized kohlrabi called Grand Duke, baked goods, canned items and handmade things like mittens, purses, hot pot holders & dish scrubbers. A huge thanks to Senator Kubly & County Administrator Sara Folsted for showing their support at the Olivia Farmers’ Market!

As the month long Eat Local Challenge is winding down everyone keeps asking me what’s next. And I really don’t have a concrete answer. I am sure that a combination of habits will blend together. I will still make an occasional loaf of bread, have dinner at a restaurant & order a pizza while still shopping at the area Farmers’ Markets. You know its summer in Minnesota, why wouldn't you want to eat local? The markets are full of great things. Go out there and see for yourself! To find a Farmers’ Market or local producer near you check out these links.

http://www3.mda.state.mn.us/mngrown/?gclid=CNnB1tfp96ICFR5V5wodbTcOjw

http://www.localdirt.com/

http://www.prideoftheprairie.org/

Day 30

Breakfast Day 30: I had an early meeting this morning and totally forgot to eat breakfast… I did however do a little pre baking early this morning. I have dough rising at home for what I hope turns out to be whole wheat pita bread and hamburgers buns (not to be confused with the hockey pucks I made earlier in the challenge).

Lunch Day 30: Taco pitas stuffed with spicy ground beef, lettuce and cheese, corn on the cob, snap peas & raspberries

Did I mention that the pitas were homemade with local ingredients? Have you ever had a pita that is still warm from the oven? Wow, it will change your view on pitas forever; really there is no going back!

Dinner Day 30: Philly sandwich (on a fresh homemade bun), snap peas, carrots, green beans & leftover potato wedges

After dinner tonight I visited the Mages Gardens II, I couldn’t believe how much everything had grown in less than a month! I helped to pick some green beans as they were prepping for two markets tomorrow (The Becker Market in Willmar & the Olivia Farmers’ Market). I also got a little canning lesson form Nancy Mages. I am still not ready to do any canning myself but I am picking up tips from all these great canners I have been meeting at the markets and farms I’ve been visiting. I also spoke with Erin Grams of Dew Drop Gardens & I am so excited, I am going to get my first CSA delivery tomorrow morning!

Day 29

Breakfast Day 29: Yogurt and toast

Lunch Day 29: Chicken Caesar salad, beats & snap peas

Snack: Beef jerky from Moonstone & cheese (PastureLand & Sunny Road Morning Star Farm of Cokato, MN)

We made it to the Fairfax Farmers’ Market tonight. Wow, that is a great market! We found zucchini, carrots, onions, peas, sweet corn, raspberries, broccoli, & peanut butter cookies. Tonight I am going to attempt to make pita bread; I have found yet another online recipe. I also am planning to make or start a batch of Rye bread to go along with the Pastrami that I picked up while on my visit to Moonstone.

Dinner Day 29: Zucchini boats stuffed with onions, turnips, carrots, chicken, and pepper jack cheese, sweet corn, royal purple beans & fresh bread (I’m talking still warm from the oven!)

Zucchini boats is a concept that I’d never heard of until I had a chat with the Lundstrum’s of Bird Island (check out their wonderful produce at the Olivia Markets on Thursdays) They told me to cut them length wise, fill them with anything that sounds good top with some cheese and bake until bubbly (350 degrees for about 20 minutes). Tonight’s dinner was by far one of my favorite meals during this challenge. I will make zucchini boats again. Tonight as dinner was cooking we were putting away our great finds from the Fairfax market and sampling everything along the way. Do you have any idea how cool it is too see a kid (almost 3) eat raw peas faster than you can shuck them and raspberries by the handful? I’d most definitely say that this challenge has gotten my family to enjoy eating our vegetable more! I’d always liked most vegetables but now I crave them! Could it be that when there are so fresh they taste that much better?

Day 28

Breakfast Day 28: Toast with strawberry jam from Birch Coulee Creak Farm & yogurt

Lunch Day 28: Left over calzone, green beans & beats

Dinner Day 28: Steak, potato wedges, salad & green beans- Eating local is such tough work...

Tonight I was both mom & dad at home. I fired up that grill, prepped my steaks and potato wedges like I knew what I was doing. I even cleaned the garage as the coals were getting ready. After a perfectly timed dinner, (I love that when it happens, you know all the things are done at the same time & the family is at the table & ready!) Elliot and I took the 4-wheeler out to run the dog some. As we were cleaning up from dinner talking about the 4-wheeler Elliot declares "I'll drive, you just ride- ok mom". So scary! Even after all our running around I still managed to find a little time to research some recipes online for later in the week. Today I felt like I had a handle on this Eat Local Challenge or perhaps just a burst of energy.

Day 27

Brunch Day 27: Pancakes & sausage


Dinner Day 27: Chicken calzones, salad, & snap peas

Elliot & I were able to go and check out Moonstone Farm with my friend Ann and her boys Hokon & Espen. I have been wanting to visit this farm for a very long time. What a beautiful farm! There is a store where you can purchase delicious local item such as Moonstone meats, Sheppard Way cheeses, wild rice, cook books, art and much more, a pottery studio, a lush green arch of hops, a vineyard, a quite & secluded sandy, a large & beautiful garden, pasture land, alfalfa & grass fields and they boys favorite part of the whole day…tractors! Audrey, Richard and their two interns were very welcoming and what a treat to visit, shop & swim at Moonstone.

Another first for the Eat Local Challenge, calzones! I had no idea what I was doing and of course didn’t followed a recipe other than the beer (Premium) pizza dough recipe. After letting it rise I rolled it out, adding my toppings and covered it another layer of dough, pinched the edges together, brushed with olive oil and baked at 400 for about 25 minutes. Elliot ate every bit on his plate including the make shift marinara I threw together from frozen tomatoes as we watch the Little Mermaid (for the first time). Elliot’s calzone was just chicken & cheese and I added pepper and basil to mine. Next time I will try to roll the dough a little thinner
other than that it was a pretty good and easy dinner.

Day 26

Breakfast Day 26: Scrambled Eggs & toast

We had a busy morning, despite the rain we made it to the Redwood Farmers’ Market. We found a ton of great stuff including: turnips, zucchini (Elliot thought they were big pickles!), snap peas, Yukon Gold potatoes & popcorn. After that we headed back to Olivia were 17 dozen ears of corn were waiting for us at the Schmoll’s Sweet corn stand. We were the delivery crew for my nephew Tom’s graduation party. My family has become corn snobs and prefers to eat corn on the cob from none other than Renville County! I was happy to oblige & more happy that I didn’t have to pick the corn.

Lunch Day 26: SunButter & jelly sandwich & yogurt

Dinner Day 26: Grad party food- um yeah that wasn’t so local. However, the corn was very local and so good!