Ingredient Substitutions

Need to know how much local molasses or local honey equals the amount of sugar called for in your recipe? Or flour substitutions; is 1 C local rice flour the same as 1 C. conventional all-purpose flour? As a matter of fact, it is.
Just check this great table of substitutions.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/IngredientSubstitution.htm

Another cracker recipe

I haven't tried it yet, but if the third try at the rice cracker recipe doesn't work out, I will consider this one for homemade wheat thins.

http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/02/05/finer-things-friday-homemade-cracker-recipe-at-long-last/

Roasted Garlic and Scallion dip

Place 1 head of garlic (conventional, because we had it on hand) on a sheet of foil; drizzle with 2 tsp. olive oil (pecan oil) and seal.
Roast at 400 degrees until tender, 40-45 minutes; unwrap and let cool.
Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins into a food processor.
Puree with 8 ounces cream cheese (creole cream cheese) at room temperature and 1/4 C. milk (Kleinpeter) until smooth. Stir in 4 thinly sliced scallions.
Season with salt & pepper. (I only used Locavore salt; no pepper)

Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Serve with sweet potato chips (see recipe from 2012 post), bread from your favorite local bakery, or conventional crackers. I have yet to find a successful recipe for crackers, so we will likely make crostinis from Hollygrove or Gracious Bakery baguettes.
This comes out with a strong roasted garlic flavor, which is a good thing in my book, but may be a bit shocking to others.
Becase the characteristics of creole cheese are different from conventional cream cheese, the 1/4 C. milk seems to me to be too much; it made the dip a little thinner than I'd like it to be. I recommend less milk and more cream cheese. Next time, I may also add some Ryals goat cheese for variety and thickness.

From Real Simple

(I didn't realize I had so many recipes from Real Simple; I rarely read it)

Spicy Marinated Raw Zucchini

Thinly slice 4 zucchini (I used a larger, speckled squash-like vegetable from Hollygrove)
Toss with:
2 sliced shallots (or Hollygrove scallions)
2 T. canola oil (pecan oil)
2 T. rice vinegar (Steen's cane vinager)
1 tsp. crushed red pepper (I didn't find a substitute, but I imagine small bits of jalepeno would work)

Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but up to 8 hours before serving.

This could be a side dish or a salad on its own. The squash comes out very crisp, crunchy and tasty. It was a little spicy for me (even though I am from New Mexico and can handle very hot), so I would add less pepper, or none at all next time. I think I just don't care for the pepper flakes flavor; I won't use that in the future. I didn't go out and buy any just for this recipe, we happened to have some in the cupboard.

From Real Simple



Louisiana Blueberry Jam

Fast, easy, delicious.

5 C. Louisiana blueberries
1/2 C. sugar (used brown cane sugar)
1 T fresh lemon juice (I have frozen lemon juice cubes from Becnel lemons)
1/4 t. kosher salt (or locavore-provided salt)

In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon until the berries have released their juices.

Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened, 18-25 minutes. Transfer to containers and refrigerate for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 1 year.

 

Makes 3 cups.

I plan to serve it over Ryal's goat cheese as

a spread on a Hollygrove Market baguette.

Taken from Real Simple

2013 Locavore Challenge

NOLA Locavore Challenge 2013 is upon us. The month of June is again the locavore challenge to see if we can eat locally-sourced food for an entire month.
I've already been to Rouse's and to Langenstein's to stock up on local goods. I am not doing ultra strict, so one of my cheats is that I can buy foods locally produced, even if not locally grown (the various flavors of hummus made by the woman on the northshore, and sweets from Sucre, for example, or locally roasted coffee from French Truck coffee).
Let the challenge begin!
Good luck my fellow locavores.

Sweet Potato "Chips"

The wheat berry chili was a huge hit! Not too spicy and generally deemed delicious.

The sweet potato "chips" were also popular. They are just raw sweet potatoes (Louisiana grown and purchased from Rouse's) that are soaked in water for a day or two. The get crispy and curl up like potato chips.

 

Directions

Peel sweet potato

Slice very thin
Place in Mason jar or other recepticle with water and a single slice of lemon
Cover with water
Let soak in refrigerator for several hours or several days.

Drain

Serve with salsa or hummus or other dip.

Delicious! And so simple.

They will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

I've also tried this technique with jicama. I'm sure other vegetables would also work.