An Exciting Week... not just the food

Life goes on. To continue from last post, things were normal enough. I have been harvesting and canning the garden bounty as well as applesauce and drying some tomatoes. To learn more about food preservation and being a more hard-core localvore, do read our posts from 2009. But I digress! We begin here on Tuesday, September 20th, a work day in the Simmons Soap shop. Our local meal was Breakfast - fresh eggs and Loleta Bakery sourdough toast with our first ripe melon from our lower greenhouse.

9/21 - Lunch was my summer favorite sandwich - Cucumber, tomato and Loleta Pepper Jack on Loleta Bakery sourdough. I used our home made mayonnaise for this.

9/22 - Lunch - The amazing, ultimate salad! Not just lettuce & tomato & carrot & red cabbage from the garden, but sliced steamed beets and grated Loleta Cheddar and home canned local caught Albacore. Vinagarette of our herbed red wine vinegar. 

9/23 - this is the day things got exciting! I do volunteer Emergency Medical Dispatching. I'm usually on call one weekend a month. This was NOT my weekend. However, at around 1 in the afternoon a wildfire started up in Ruth and the dispatcher who was to be on call was evacuated!

I had planned to can Ancho peppers and had picked the peppers, which we grow in containers in a greenhouse. Anchos are fabulous big blocky peppers with an occasional bit of heat. We have been using them instead of Anaheim chilies for years. I can them for future chile rellenos - much like the canned Ortega Chilies you buy in the store (which are Anaheims). 

While I often roast them over a charcoal fire, we did it on the gas grill this time. Slower, but just as efficient. The aroma of the roasting chiles is amazing, and we got them all done with visions of a dinner of Chile rellenos dancing in our head - and that's when the phone rang!

For the next 6 hours I pretty much was on the phone helping coordinate information for the fire. From Sheriffs to Red Cross, Forest Service, Cal Fire, Volunteer Fire Departments, EMS personnel, road closures, evacuation centers and more, the beginning of a wildfire in an inhabited area is a mass of organization and controlled chaos!
Did we have dinner? I don't remember. I did have a breakfast of eggs and toast, so that was covered...
I somehow managed to get my peppers peeled and in the refrigerator to finish processing manana!
9/24 - Well, tonight is a benefit dinner and the official Ruth Fire USFS meeting. No rellenos tonight, but we got the peppers into jars, setting some aside for tomorrow's dinner. Our Localvore meal was Lunch - Quesadillas with Bien Padre tortillas, Loleta Pepper jack, chopped peppers and fresh tomato salsa from the garden.
9/25 - Yippee! Dinner - Chile Rellenos! A very special treat. 
Stuff the roasted, peeled, seeded Ancho peppers with a piece of Loleta jack cheese and dredge in flour. I used some Shakefork Farm barley flour to keep it local. Then I separate eggs (I used 3) and beat the whites until stiff. Now I mix a little salt (exception alert!) in the flour & fold the flour into the egg whites. Lastly I fold the egg yolks into the beaten whites.
I use a small 6" cast iron frying pan and put (exception alert!) about 3/4 inch vegetable oil in it (I'm using safflower)(I know they grow safflower as close as Davis, Ca.). I heat it until a drop of the egg mix sizzles immediately and browns fairly quickly. Then, carefully, dip the floured, stuffed chiles in the egg mix and add to the hot oil. 2 fit nicely in the pan. turn as soon as they brown on one side. When brown on both sides remove from oil onto a cooling rack over paper over a plate or pan. I use newspaper. It's just to catch the drips. Adjust the heat as needed to keep the rellenos cooking quickly, but not too fast. You'll get the hang of it in short order.
We had these with fresh tomato salsa and our homemade hot sauce, corn on the cob, and watermelon grown by a friend in nearby Larabee Valley. FEAST!
9/26 - I neglected to photograph the dinner before we ate it (sorry) but Breakfast - leftover relleno (heated in a microwave) with watermelon and scrambled eggs with some leftver corn cut from the cob & stirred in. Fresh salsa and hot sauce on top and Oh Boy! This is livin'.
9/27 - Poached egg on toast for breakfast with another melon, Honeydew, from the garden.
9/28 - Last Wed. of the month and our local Book Group chat & chew. I brought the delicious Zuchinni Curry and Cucumber Raita. There were local apples and grilled eggplant and tomato on ciabatta and many more delectable treats including a wine made by a group of folks who get together to make wine in Hayfork (Trinity County).
9/29 - Breakfast was scrambled egg with chopped garden vegetables: onion, bell pepper, summer squash... topped with fresh chopped tomato.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Eat Local Challenge and I have been saving for another special treat. I will be making the Eggplant Parmesan I came up with in 2009, last time we took the Challenge

Continuing Menu of Local Delights...

Oh I am lazy this year!
I confess our breakfasts are virtually all 100% local based (having chickens doesn't hurt), and often, that is the meal I count for my 1-Local-Meal-a-Day.

So, from where we left off:
9/10 - Breakfast: The delectable poached fresh eggs on Brio bread with grated Loleta Cheese

9/11 - Dinner: The wonderful Beet & Beet green Gratin! A solar cooked delight, see the recipe on our earlier blog post: Garden Delights: Don't that Beet All! With this we had a garden green salad with Napa Olive Oil and our homemade herbed red wine vinegar. We love solar cooking, and use the Sun Oven as often as possible, all year round.

9/12 - Breakfast: Leftover Beet Gratin with eggs on the side

9/13 - Breakfast: Our favorite Huevos, Simmons Style. Eggs poached in home canned Zesty Salsa, on Bien Padre tortilla with grated Loleta pepper jack!

9/14 - They had Cod Cheeks in town! We LOVE these local fishery tidbits. Sorta like faux scallops and inexpensive to boot. Dinner: Cod cheeks sauteed with my fish herb seasoning, fresh corn on the cob, and marinated cucumbers from the garden.

9/15 - Lunch: Green salad with home canned local caught Albacore

9/16 - Breakfast: Simmons 'Eggerito' Scrambled eggs in a Bien Padre tortilla with a bit of grated Loleta cheese and homemade hot sauce on top.

9/17 - A lovely picnic lunch on Arcata Plaza in the middle of the North Country Fair! We had Brio bread, Cypress grove chevres and Humboldt Fog, locally made bear/venison/pork salami, BBQ Humboldt Bay oysters from one of the food booths, fruit from the Farmer's Market and some Coates vinyard wine. What's not to like!

9/18 - Home again for a romantic dinner of grilled local beef, fresh corn on the cob and steamed carrots

9/19 -  Dinner: grilled local salmon, zucchini curry (many non-local spices in this - added up to maybe 1 tablespoon - but it had to be!) and Raita made with our cucumbers, cilantro and home made yogurt YUM!!!

Picked more cucmbers today, as well as peppers and squash and tomatoes... & will be canning applesauce and mixed vegetables for soup. This time of year is full-on abundance in the garden.
The Autumnal Equinox is this coming Friday, we need to enjoy what is left of this summer season.

2011 - Officially Localvorious again!

Well, we thought we'd sign up 'Officially' to the NorthCoast Co-op's Eat Local Challenge again this year.
 We eat local origin food as much as possible anyway, especially during the end of summer harvest, when dinner often is what came out of the garden that day. On top of this our freezer has a supply of local beef from a neighbor, chicken from birds we raised here, and locally caught fish, as well as canned local tuna in the pantry.

Of the levels available, I inadvertently chose 'Lifestyle Localvore' -

Lifestyle Localvore
For at least one meal per day, eat only locally grown,
raised, and/or produced foods with a few exceptions.
Exceptions may include: non-local spices, cooking
oils, vinegar, and spirits.

part of our 'garden salad bar'

I generally choose a more rigid level, but the type was small and the evening late and the link finicky. Ah well.
But I am content with my choice. If 2011 has been as intense for you as it has been for us, you will appreciate my accepting a lesser challenge.

Part of our inspiration was finally making it to the top of the wait list for ShakeFork Farm's grain share CSA (Community Supported Agriculture - learn more). We have always admired and wanted to support the CSAs in our area, but we give away flowers, herbs, & vegetables, not buy them... But the chance to get locally produced oats, wheat, barley, & more was perfect for our needs.

To accommodate the challenge, I need to make some yogurt, sour cream, and mayonnaise. Other than that, we're good to go, I think. Stay tuned!

So, let us begin.
One meal a day up to now:
Sept. 1: Breakfast - eggs from our hens, poached, on Loleta Bakery Sourdough with Loleta Cheese Pepper Jack

Sept. 2: Dinner at a friend's in town - Local wild caught Salmon, Brio Bakery bread, Arcata Farmers Market broccoli

Sept. 3: Breakfast ( at friend's. In town for Blues on the Bay) - Our eggs, Brio Bakery multi grain bread (Yum)

Sept. 4: Breakfast - same. We're sorry Humboldt Hot Dogs were not at Blue on the Bay this year

Sept. 5: Home again! Picked up some local Cod Cheeks at Eureka Natural Foods on the way home. Wonderful dinner of sauteed Cod Cheeks with my Fish Herb Blend (for which we grow lemon Basil & Lemon Thyme), garden salad & Brio Bakery Bread

Sept. 6: Lunch was a garden salad (literally) with home-canned local albacore tuna and dressing made from Napa olive oil (an exception) and my home made herbed red wine vinegar (see below).

Sept. 7: Just canned our favorite "Zesty Salsa" recipe from the Ball Blue Book, and used the leftovers for Breakfast - Huevos Rancheros of our eggs poached in Fiesta Salsa, over Loleta Pepper Jack on a Bien Padre corn tortilla. YUM!!!

Got Cukes?

Sept. 8: Lunch - Garden classic: Tomato & Cucumber sandwich on Loleta Bakery Sourdough. My all time summer favorite (when I don't have frying peppers).

Sept. 9: Brunch - cleaning out the fridge salad with canned tuna. Loleta Bakery bread on the side (end of loaf )

So far, so good. I should note that we generally drink water with meals. I do have tea in the morning, but not wioth breakfast and always with Humboldt Creamery 1/2 & 1/2 :^) Snacks here often consist of raw peppers or cucumbers or tomatoes, at least THIS time of year.
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Herbs & Garlic drying on the back porch

We have made red wine vinegar for many years. Nothing to it. Pour a bottle of inexpensive red wine into a clean glass jar. I use a gallon or 1/2 gallon jar, depending on what's brewing at the time. Add 1/4 c. Mother of red wine vinegar, cover the jar with a fine mesh cloth so it can breathe, but not big enough to let the fruit (vinegar) flies in. Keep in a warm, dark place. Occasionally add leftover red wine. In about 6 weeks you have rustic wine vinegar. I am happy to share Mother of vinegar (e mail me via Simmons Natural Bodycare), but you can use 1/2 cup of raw cider vinegar instead. Shake well before measuring or, better yet, just use the dregs in the bottom of the bottle. Bragg raw cider vinegar is perfect. For more information on making your own wine vinegar, see the 'Gang of Pour'.

We have many herbal vinegar blends that we make for cooking. I thought I'd pass one along here - a favorite base for salad dressing. We even made a gallon of this to use at the reception dinner for our daughter's wedding.
Again, the important thing is to use enough herbs when you are making the flavored vinegar - 1/2 cup dried mixed herbs to 2 cups of vinegar.

Recipe: For this blend use red wine vinegar with the addition of basil, oregano, garlic and black peppercorns. We use about 12 peppercorns and 6 cloves of garlic per 2 cups of vinegar. Let the mixture steep in a dark place and shake occasionally to mix. Taste after a week and, if it is not strong enough, let sit another 2 or 3 weeks. When it tastes right, strain and store in clean, tightly capped bottles.
To make the salad dressing, mix 1/3 herb vinegar with 2/3 good olive oil or a mix of olive and other salad oil, as you prefer. Enjoy!