Go Local Challenge Week #4

I tried to find some local meat for this weeks meal, but unfortunately it just didn't happen this week. Sara sent me a link to a store that carries local meet, but when I went there they said that there have been problems getting the distributors to send them anything. They did have a few whole chickens, but I wasn't up for spending $12. I do know that I am going to have to fork out some dough for the meat and after Jai's reaction to this weeks meal I will probably be doing it next week! This week we had local peppers stuffed with not so local brown rice (this is what freaked Jai out), quinoa and cheddar cheese. The corn, beans and cucumbers were all local and the sauce on top of the peppers was my left over spaghetti sauce from last week. I really enjoyed this meal and Isha chowed down on the corn and stuffed peppers!

I got a hold of my friend that works for Ukrops and he said that their meat comes from many different states, but that some of it is actually local. So I guess there is the potential that the meat in the spaghetti sauce was local! Finding local meat has been the biggest challenge. The demand is so high for it that it either flies of the shelf or stores can't even get it in. There is a farmers market on Tuesdays called The Byrd House Market were local vendors bring meat and there is also a farm in the neighboring county that is open to the public on Saturdays so we may head out there to get some local meat! A trip to the farm sound like fun.

Heaven

Dessert was so good that I decided that it needed it's own post!!!
I love peaches and nectarines, but I had given up on eating them because the ones from the grocery store are awful. They are hard as a rock with absolutely no flavor and half the time they never ripen properly. When I saw these ones at my little fruit stand I decided to buy a few and give them a try. They were so good that I had to go back the next day and get more!
These nectarines came from a farm just outside of Charlottesville, VA and they were wonderful. I sliced them up and sprinkled them with a little sugar, which they really didn't need and some cinnamon.
The best part was that I found some local ice cream, from Homestead Creamery in Burnt Chimney, VA, to eat them with. They tasted so good that it was like being in Heaven!!! This was the best ice cream. It was totally different than all that mass produced junk. It tasted like the stuff that we used to make at home.

Isha's Little Dress

Here is the finished product. I am glad that I finally got around to finishing this because it turned out to be really cute and if I had waited any longer it wouldn't have fit her! There is a head scarf that goes with it, but I am not sure that I am going to make it. Isha isn't good about keeping things on her head. Plus it is so hot here in the summer that it would be uncomfortable to wear.

I had to redo the stitches around the top because the hole was to small for her head to fit through. After a few tries I finally came up with something that worked. This pattern can be modified for bigger kids so I might even make another one for her. I think it would be cute to make it shorter and then use it as a shirt. I have even thought about making one and putting a long sleeve shirt underneath and some cute tights and then she could wear it in winter. We will see if I actually get around to any of these cute ideas.
We went out to dinner last night with some friends so we will be doing our local meal tonight instead. I will post our meal here tomorrow. It isn't very creative, but that is the beautiful of local meals, you just go with what ya got!

Go Local Challenge Week #3

There still isn't a huge variety at our little fruit stand down the road, but I don't feel like driving and wasting gas to go all the way downtown so I made do with what they had. I made my first ever batch of home made spaghetti sauce! I am embarrassed to say that I have always used the jars of sauce because I was to busy working to take the time and make it from scratch. I threw everything in the crock pot yesterday morning and could smell it all day long.

The tomatoes and onions were local, the fresh herbs were not local, nor was the pasta or bread. Of course I had to put meat in the sauce other wise Jai would have been very put out. I am not sure if the meat is local or not. I checked on the Ukrops grocery store web site and it said that the meat is raised on small farms, humanely and all that good stuff, but not exactly where it came form. I even called the store but the guy I talked to wasn't sure where the farms were located. I have a friend who works for Ukrops so I will have to ask him to do some research for me. The zucchini was local and it was really good. I dipped it in egg, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and baked it and it was yummy. Much better than that soggy steamed stuff.

Lately this blog has been heavy on the "other stuff" and light on the books and nonexistent on the yarn. That is about to change. I actually picked up my crochet hook the other day and started to finish Isha's summer dress. I think it is still going to fit her. So stay tuned!

Go Local Challenge Week #2

Yesterday was kind of a rough day. I was grouchy due to a sunburn and Isha was grouchy just because! On my way to the fruit stand I drove past a pizza place and thought "I'm in such a bad mood I could eat a whole pizza" and that's when it hit me, home made pizza for dinner.

The only local part of this meal was the zucchini and tomatoes, unfortunately the rest came from the grocery store. I used an already made pizza crust because I was in no mood to role out dough. This pizza was really good. I at a ton of it for dinner and didn't feel totally guilty because it wasn't all meat covered and greasy.

Jai had boy's night out yesterday so he ate buffalo wings and went to the movies. He was excited that he picked local food night to be gone! If he could have gotten over the fact that there was no meat on the pizza I think he would actually have liked it.

This local food challenge has been really good for me. Not only am I finding local food, but I am being creative with veggies. I like lots of veggies, but I am never very creative with them. Usually they are just a side dish to meat and either potatoes or rice. The thought of a vegetarian meal is really foreign to me, but I am starting to incorporate more veggies into my cooking and realizing it can be a full meal with out meat. I want to cook with lots of different foods so that Isha gets used to eating lots of different things and not just meat and potatoes. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with potatoes, I'm from Idaho, I love the things, but there are also lots of other great foods out there.

Once again, thank you H for getting me to try something new and challenging myself!

Go Local Week 1

Our first meal wasn't 100% local, but we did pretty good. I made cucumber salad with my Hanover cucumber, but added a grocery store red onion for Jai.

Here is our tomato basil quiche that was made with Hanover tomatoes, local eggs and some local milk that I found at the grocery store. I did use an already made crust because I wasn't feeling motivated enough to make my own and grocery store cheese because I haven't found any local cheese yet.

This was the first quiche that I have ever made. I did take some of the advice of the reviewers and I used bread crumbs instead of flour to coat the tomatoes and I also added some Parmesan cheese to the tomatoes. It was really good, but I was hoping for a more eggy quiche. The tomatoes left it a little watery, but the flavor was really good.

I have to admit that tomatoes aren't my favorite veggie. I only started eating them a few years ago so I still have this weird thing with them. My brain still tells me that I don't like them even though they taste good. I guess it is one of those childish phobias I am still working on.

I also made some corn on the cob to go with the quiche. It wasn't local, but I am hoping that soon we will be getting some corn at the fruit stand.

Jai's Reaction

Jai wasn't impressed that there was no meat. I told him that meat was expensive and that he could live with one meal with no meat. Plus we are going to BBQ on Fri, Sat, and Sun so he will be getting plenty of meat this weekend. When I told him to get some cucumbers he said that he already had enough veggies(in a very sarcastic tone), but when he tasted them he took a big helping. I have to say that for as whiny as he is when there is no meat, he was very nice and ate all of his dinner. That is one of the things that I love about Jai, he always supports me in the things that are important to me!

The Go Local Challenge

Today I started doing my research for Heather's Go Local challenge. First we went to a little organic grocery store and we didn't find much local stuff, but that is where we got the eggs. Then we went to Carolina Mike's and we got Hanover cucumbers and tomatoes. Hanover tomatoes are so famous that they even have their own festival . There are a few more stores that I am going to try and there are also a couple of different farmer's markets where I am going to try to get local food.

I think that are first local meal is going to be a quiche made with our eggs, which came from Dayton Va and a salad made with my veggies from Hanover, which is just north of us. My first meal won't be 100% local, but it is a good start and I am hoping that as this challenge goes along I will get better at finding local food and there will be more of it out there once the growing season is in full swing. Hopefully tomorrow's post will have a picture of a yummy quiche.

The other part of this challenge for me is getting Jai on board. If you throw to many veggies at him he freaks. That boy loves meat! I will let you know how he feels about eating quiche for dinner!

If you want to get in on the challenge just check out Heather's blog