Dark Days Challenge - Week #10

For this weeks challenge, I looked at what was left of my summer harvest and what was available at the Farmer's Market. Soup seemed to be the answer. From my harvest, "Delicata" Squash are still filling the garage - well not quite. But perhaps next year a few less "Delicata" and a few more plants of another variety. My newly discovered Winter Farmer's Market still had a nice selection of potatoes and many beautiful leeks. Now all I needed was a recipe. There are probably as many Potato & Leek Soup recipes as there are cooks. But I wanted something special. After a search on google I discovered the site Pinch My Salt and read Nicole's recipe. Besides sounding delicious I loved the story attached to it. Recipes connected to loved ones always taste better. My only addition was to throw in one Delicata" with the potatoes. It nicely blended in with the potatoes, added some important nutriants, and got rid of one more squash from the garage! Here is the link to Nicole's recipe.

Dark Days Challenge - Week #6

After 2 weeks of Holiday madness, I am back with week #6 of the Dark Days Challenge. As I was planning out the Christmas meals, I realized that my traditional Christmas breakfast would adapt perfectly to the Challenge. Each year I make a breakfast strata for us to enjoy. It is hearty and comforting, yet isn't so filling that you aren't ready to indulge in the main Christmas dinner hours later. I especially like that this is assembled the day before, so on Christmas morning the cook just has to pop it in the oven and isn't in the kitchen missing out on any fun with the rest of the family. I hope everyone had a Happy Holiday Season and that 2010 is filled with peace, joy and many local, delicious meals.

-Breakfast Sausage - 3 Miles/Sweet Briar Farm

-Eggs - 3 Miles/Sweet Briar Farms

-Wheat Bread - 27 Miles/Cottage Grove Farmhouse Bakery

-Milk - 13 Miles/Lochmead Dairy

-Cheddar Cheese - 102 Miles/Tillamook Creamery

-Swiss Cheese - 102 Miles/Tillamook Creamery

The Dark Days Challenge - Week #3

I started Thanksgiving morning working out on my treadmill ...and watching the Food Network. Hmm, maybe not the best combination! But Emeril Live was on and Emeril was fixing a Thanksgiving meal for New York Fireman. What really caught my attention was his starter, a Smoked Sausage, Butternut Squash, and Wild Rice Soup. Suddenly my week three meal was set in motion.

  I already had the Butternut Squash from my garden and knew where I could get most of the other ingredients locally. But the challenge for me was the wild rice. I thought I remembered buying a locally grown wild rice once so I began with a search on google. Sure enough, up popped Oregon Jewel. A trip to Cappella market and I had my wild rice. What I learned through my research though, was pretty neat. The rice is grown just outside Brownsville, Oregon on converted conventional farm land. The Willamette Valley clay soil that has challenged home and professional vegetable farmers for generations has proved to be perfect for growing wild rice. The clay soil holds water, which in turn eliminates the need for irrigation. The water keeps the weeds down and eliminates the need for herbicides. Native grasses and trees have returned, growing up next to the paddies. And with the return of this food and shelter the biodiversity of the region has reemerged. In fact, the Audubon Society lists the farm as a birding site. Pretty great stuff! And I haven't even mentioned the fact that we have a great source for a locally grown whole grain.

But back to this weeks meal. I followed Emeril's recipe but cut it in half and eliminated the parsely and corn. I think it would have been great with the addition of corn, but I didn't have any frozen away to use. Next year! So here is my "shopping list" -

- Butternut Squash - O miles/ My garden

-Chicken Stock -92 Miles/ Pacific Foods

-Yellow Onions - 16 Miles/Hey Bayles! Farm

-Wild Rice - 20 Miles/Oregon Jewel

- Linguesa Sausage - 3 Miles/Sweet Briar Farm

-Half-in-half - 13 Miles / Lochmead Dairy

- Exceptions - Oil, Salt & Pepper

The Dark Days Challenge - Week #2

For week #2 of the Dark Days Challenge, "Breakfast for Dinner" was theme. A trip to the last outdoor Farmers Market of the year, a stop at the store, and preserves from the pantry provided everything we needed for a quick and tasty dinner. The menu consisted of eggs ( scrambled or poached) with a sprinkle of cheese on top, bacon, home-fries with onion, and toast with butter and jam. I particularly loved looking at the egg carton with its mix of tan, brown and blue eggs. Beautiful, unique eggs from happy girls.

Eggs - 3 Miles/ Sweet Briar Farm

Bacon - 3 Miles/ Sweet Briar Farms

Fingerling Potatoes - 13 Miles/ Groundworks Organics

Yellow Onion - 13 Miles/ Groundworks Organics

Wheat Bread - 27 Miles/Cottage Grove Farmhouse Bakery

Milk- 13 Miles/ Lochmead Dairy

Tillamook Cheddar - 102 Miles/ Tillamook Cheese

Butter- 102 Miles/ Tillamook County Creamery

Blackberry Jam- O Miles

Exceptions: Oil, Salt, Pepper