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.

Zesty Wheat Berry Black Bean Chili

This recipe comes from EatingWell, but it has been highly altered to meet the locavore regulations. Here is the link to the original recipe:
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/zesty_wheat_berry_black_bean_chili.html

The recipe below is what I used to make the locavore version I am serving to 8 guests this evening. I reduced the amount of chili powder and peppers because it was a little too spicy. I love hot, but my husband and my guests are less enamored of tearing up during dinner due to tasty heat.
The ground spices are my locavore cheat (but I already had them in the cupboard). I'm not sure if Blue Runner canned beans from Rouse's count as a cheat under the Strict rules, but that is what I chose. You can substitule any local bean.

Ingredients

2 T. oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced

2 t. chili powder (I used 1 1/2 t.)

1 1/2 t. ground cumin

1 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

2 16 oz. cans Blue Runner black beans

2 creole tomatoes, diced, lightly sauteed (called for cans)

1/4 C. diced hot peppers, lighlty sauteed (a variety of sizes and heats from the pepper people at the markets; add more peppers if you like a hotter chili)

2 C. vegetable broth (made from Hollygrove carrots, carrot tops and onions plus a few sweet potato shards)

2 t. honey

2 C. wheat berries (recipe posted yesterday)

Juice of 1 lime (or lemon)

1/2 C. fresh cilantro

1 avocado (I omitted this, but only because I had to)

Preparation

Heat oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and spices (chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper) and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add beans, tomatoes, hot peppers, broth and honey.

Bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Stir in cooked wheat berries and heat through, about 5 more minutes.

Remove from heat.

Stir in lemon juice.

Garnish each bowl with avocado and cilantro.

My husband and I both love this hearty bowl of chili. The guests will have to opine later. We will serve it with a salad of greens from Hollygrove, pecans and blueberries with a Steen's vinegar and pecan oil dressing and a few goat cheese crumbles. For dessert: 2 types of New Orleans ice cream, dried cherries from Portland, and green chili pistachio brittle from New Mexico (which were local when I bought them earlier this month).



Wheat Berries from Carencro

I picked up 3 pounds of wheat berries a couple of weeks ago at the Locavore swap during the OCH art market. I had never purchased a wheat berry before so I have had to research the cooking and serving of the berry of the wheat.
There are many opinions about how to cook it. I opted for the Joy of Cooking way. They say, berries that have been soaked for at least 8 hours cook in half the time, so I went for that.

Their directions:
Soak 1/2 C. of wheat, kamut, or spelt berries; cover with water by at least 2 inches.
Let stand overnight.
Drain if needed (if the water is dirty, it is recommended it be drained - I drained)
Add to 4 C. boiling salted water.
Gently simmer, uncovered, until tender but still chewy, 45 - 60 minutes. Drain.

And they are ready to be added to salads, stews or other dishes. Stay tuned for my use of the tasty (tender, but still chewy) wheat berries. I still have about half the bag, so I will continue searching for more recipes.

 

Tablescape

And don't forget beautiful local flowers for your table. These lovely zinnias came from the Mid-City Farmer's Market at American Can.

Just $6.00 and they last a lot longer than store-bought flowers.  Such a deal!

Vegetable Fritters

There was frilly squash in the Hollygrove box on Tuesday and I bought some beautiful yellow zucchini at the Thursday Farmer's Market in Mid-City at American Can. You couldn't buy just one yellow zucchini, you had to buy the box (4-6) - makes sense.
So I searched for vegetable recipes. I found that vegetable fritters can come in many varieties; some have cheese, some have flour, some have both, others have neither. I went with the neither option.
This recipe can be used with any vegetable that can be grated (potatoes included).

Easy, Fast Vegetable Fritters

3 C. grated vegetables
(I used frilly squash, yellow zucchini and attempted to grate green and red peppers with varying degrees of success; minced or choopped would probably work)
1 T. finely minced onion (I used about a 1/4 of an onion)
2 eggs
oil
salt

Mix grated vegetables with onion and eggs. The batter will be quite wet.
In a large, heavy skillet, heat 3 T. oil over medium heat.
Lightly shape a handful of batter for each fritter and gently drop into the oil. Flatten the fritters with a spatula.
Let the fritters brown over medium heat until the bottoms begin to color.
Turn the fritters over and fry for several more minutes.
Drain on paper towels.
You can keep them warm in preheated 250-degree oven.
Sprinkle with salt and serve.

 

Serves 4-6

Very tasty. For seasoning, I used an herb blend in the egg mixture instead of salt, but it wasn't quite enough. It really did benefit from a little sprinkle of salt at the end. We ate them as the main course with a side of halved cherry tomatoes, but they would be a good accompaniment to a main pasta or meat dish.

Recipe from Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo

Breakfast Casserole for dinner

Wednesday 6/20
After being away so long, the larder was not very stocked with local goods, but we had almost 2 dozen local eggs and some fresh mushrooms from the Tuesday Hollygrove Market box of goods, which my husband picked up for me before I got back.
This is an adaptation from a Sankofa Farmer's Market recipe posted during the 2011 challenge.

Breakfast Casserole
11 eggs
1-2 T. half and half (cream or milk also possible) (Kleinpeter)
1 bag mushrooms (Hollygrove) (recipe calls for 1 lb.)
1/2 white onion chopped (Hollygrove) (this is an ad lib)
1 T pecan oil (calls for olive)
1 C. Ryals goat cheese (calls for feta)
salt and pepper to taste

(I used an herb blend that I bought from a grower in Portland instead of salt and pepper)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease 9 x 3 glass casserole dish with butter or oil.

Saute mushrooms and onion in oil until they are softened, but not completely cooked, about 5 minutes.

Drain mushrooms and onion if liquid remains in the pan, then spread evenly over the bottom of the casserole dish.

Crumble goat or feta cheese over vegetables. (Grated cheese can also be used and works well)

Beat eggs with half and half and salt and pepper (or alternative).

Pour eggs over vegetables, then stir gently with a fork so the vegetables and cheese are evenly distributed in the egg mixture.

Bake 45 minutes, or until eggs are set and top is starting to brown.

Serves about 6.

 Like a souffle, the egg casserole will fall a bit if it is not served promptly after removal from the oven. It still tastes good, but is not quite as tall and fluffy.

Delicious! Also handy for a breakfast on the go, or in a lunch box the next day.

3 days in New Orleans

Friday, my first night back in town, we went out to our local High Hat restaurant on Freret Street for dinner. Fantastic as always. Don't miss the cold cherry tomato soup with crabmeat. Superb.

Saturday I picked up my Locavore swag at OCH, plus 3 pounds each of whole wheat flour and wheat berries from Carencro. As a bonus, I bought a great pair of earrings from one of the local artists and won a gift certificate to Cafe Reconcile!

After eating speckled trout my father-in-law caught in the Gulf of Mexico for dinner last night and local eggs for breakfast, I head out again tomorrow on another challenge in another time zone.

Next up: Portland, Oregon. I am looking forward to some excellent local Pacific seafood. The challenge will be eating locally out of a hotel for a week. It is a suite set-up, so I will have a refrigerator. I have found some local restaurants and groceries stores, so I shall do my best.

Locavore in New Mexico

OK, so taking care of my dad, my parent's house, the dog and my mom's beautiful garden in New Mexico the first week in June did not lend itself well to blogging about food choices. However, I did try to maintain the 200 mile radius from Las Cruces, and found a vat of great honey, local Tucumcari cheeses, bountiful local vegetables, local breads, and the best in the world local green chiles. I bought locally-roasted coffee at local coffee shops and purchased wines from a local winery (St. Clair's; it is quite good).

The Mountain View Market Co-op, of which my parents have been members since the beginning, has its own farm and enjoys good local support. I told them about our locavore challenge and one of the employees launched into an empassioned speech about the food choices at Jazz Fest!

The Brookhaven Farm labels their chicken eggs with the hen number so you can get to know the hen that produced your delicious breakfast. I ate a lot of fantastic fried eggs from hens 26 and 27 and toast from a local bakery for breakfastr and fresh salads for lunch.




Our friends took us out to dinner most nights, so I had local green chilis and hand-made tortillas. I didn't inquire about the source of the cheese and rice and beans, but all were local restaurants.