OLS Week 6 - Versatile Green Beans

While I managed to squeeze in a local lunch last week consisting of grape tomatoes, mozzarella and basil drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, I didn't get time to write a post about it or take any pictures. This week almost went by without a post, too, but I remember this morning and made up a delicious local lunch to share for week 6 of One Local Summer.

A trip to the farmer's market this morning gave me great ideas for local meals in the coming week. I brought home ingredients galore. For today's local meal, I started with green beans and got creative.

First, I steamed some green beans while I sauteed onion and garlic in some olive oil. When the beans were done (about 5 minutes) I tossed them in with the onion, one diced tomato, a little salt and pepper and a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. I cooked it down for a few minutes, tossed in some fresh basil and then dished it up. I topped all that with a tablespoon or so of crumbled chevre.

For a little added oomph, I sliced up a baguette and topped a couple slices with a dollop of smoked hummus from Neopol Savory Smokery, which I only recently discovered although I've been walking past their stand for two years. The smokey hummus flavor is something I never would have considered if I hadn't tried a sample the last time I was at the market. I'd been thinking about it ever since and went prepared with a few extra dollars this week so that I could treat myself. It was well worth it, and I'm already thinking about trying their smoked salmon next time.

The local low-down: All ingredients were local except olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

CSA Report - Weeks 5 & 6

I'm doing a quick CSA post to document my shares for the last two weeks--without pictures because I forgot to take them before I started eating the food--so that I can keep track of what I've been getting. I'm particularly interested in seeing how different my shares are this year from last year due to the rainy weather we've been having.

Here's what I got in my week 5 share:

• 2 beets with greens
• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 bulb of new garlic

And what I got in my week 6 share:

• 2 beets with greens
• 1 small bunch chard
• 1 head lettuce
• 1 bulb of new garlic

It's not much, but along with my farmers market finds, I'm eating well!

CSA Report - Week 4

Here's what I got this week:

• 3 small heads of leaf lettuce (includes one head from the free choice table)
• 1.5 lbs sugar snap peas (includes additional full share)
• .75 lbs snow peas (includes additional full share)

It doesn't seem like much, but I made good use of it. There was a flavorful salad made from another grilled portobello and more of that chevre I've discovered. And I made some hummus to dip those sugar snap peas into for lunch a couple of days this week. I blanched and froze the snow peas to use in stir-fries later in the year. There was no way I could eat all those peas this week. Can't wait to see what next week's share brings!

OLS Week 4 - Chevre Steals My Heart

When I went to the farmer's market on Sunday and saw portobello caps on sale for a Father's Day special I had to have them. I tried a stuffed portobello recipe last summer that I absolutely loved. I was hoping to make them as my One Local Summer meal this week. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any local ricotta cheese for the filling.

After searching high and low (OK, just at the farmer's market and Whole Foods) I found some local goat cheese that I thought might work. I've never had chevre, so I wasn't sure what I was getting or what to do with it other than use it like I would feta--sprinkled over or tossed into a salad. It was the right consistency, though, so I thought I'd give it a try. After doing a quick internet search, I decided I wasn't going to stuff the caps and would do something different. Here's what I came up with, combining and modifying several recipes I came across.

Open-faced Portobello Stacks with Chevre Spread

Ingredients:

2 hard rolls (I used french rolls, but you could use any small to medium sized, hard crust rolls)
1/4 cup chevre
2 TBSP + 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, divided
2 tsp + 1 tsp olive oil, divided
1/4 sweet onion, sliced thinly
4 thick slices tomato
2 portobello caps, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add sliced onion and cook until caramelized. Remove from heat and set aside.

In the meantime, heat the grill. Spray or brush cut sides of each portobello slices with 2 tsp olive oil. Then brush with each portobello slice with 1 TBSP olive oil. Place on the grill, sliced side down and grill about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from grill.

In a small bowl, mix chevre with 1 tsp balsamic vinegar and stir until smooth.

Slice your rolls and grill sliced side down just until grill marks appear. Remove from grill and spread each side of the rolls with 1 TBSP of the chevre. Top each with one slice tomato, 1/4 caramelized onions and 1/4 the portobello slices. Drizzle with remaining 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 open-faced stacks (two servings).



They were a little messy, but they were scrumptious and I'll definitely be making them again!

The Local Low-Down: All ingredients except salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil were local. I paired the sandwich with a glass of local wine for a perfect, light and satisfying dinner.

OLS Week 3 and a CSA Report

I didn't get a picture of this week's CSA share, but it was a good one. There wasn't a lot to it, but I'm making good use of it.

• 0.5 lb sugar snap peas
• 0.25 lb snow peas
• 1 head lettuce

As for this week's One Local Summer meal, I fell back on those fresh eggs again. I'm doing a bit of a "vegetarian experiment" and finding local protein sources other than eggs has been a bit of a challenge. I don't mind too much, though.

This week I made a frittata, which has become one of my favorite egg dishes since I discovered them last year. A few eggs, some sauteed garlic, scallions, asparagus, and green and yellow zucchini and I'm a happy, local-eating girl. I added a side of new potato homefries and I was satisfied.

OLS Week 2 - A Childhood Stand-by

I didn't plan well for this week's local meal, so my farmer's market trip this morning was focused on finding something quick and easy I could make for a local lunch today. When I saw the new potatoes, I immediately had an idea. One of may favorite meals as a child was one that my mother would make when there wasn't much in the refrigerator or she didn't have the time and energy for a more elaborate meal: a fried egg over fried sliced potatoes (usually from a can).

To mimic this meal with local ingredients, I thinly sliced a couple new potatoes and fried them in a bit of (non-local) olive oil with a chopped scallion and a chopped garlic scape. Then I fried a fresh egg and placed it over the bed of potatoes. When the yoke breaks, the potatoes soak it up. Easy and delicious.

And the Winner Is...

Thanks so much to all of you who voted for my next pair of glasses. I counted all mentions, since some of you chose more than one pair. The winner by a landslide vote was A:













F (a very similar pair) came in second with 5 mentions. C (the oval pair) and B (the bronze-y rectangles) trailed behind with 3 and 2 votes respectively.

The interesting thing was that my favorites and yours were not the same. I liked A and F, but wasn't quite comfortable with how dark they were against my light skin. B, which only got 2 votes, was my favorite pair. In fact, I went frame shopping with those exact frames (Bebe's "Drama Queen" if anyone is interested) in mind. My sister-in-law wears them and I tried them on when I was visiting my family recently and loved how they looked on me. At least a couple of you found them appealing.

I actually didn't like C at all, but included them because, as I mentioned, I'm not very good at this. When some of you picked them I was a bit surprised. The good news is, if I remember correctly, your first choice was the cheapest pair of frames in the batch.

Looking at these pictures pretty regularly over the last few days has helped me get used to seeing myself in glasses, and I'm starting to like what I see. I'm also coming to agree with the majority of voters that the darker frames do look good on me. Since the first and second choices were so similar, I'll go back and try them both on and make a final decision then. I'm also considering getting a second pair (B) so that I can change things up when I'm feeling a little less trendy and dramatic. Of course, buying that second pair will depend on price and how much my insurance covers.

As for the winner of a small thank-you gift, Mel at Box of Chocolates will be getting a package in the near future just for voicing her opinion. Her comment (#9) was selected by the random number generator at random.org.