Summer to Fall...

My plans to write daily evade me this adventurous summer, 10 days already past since last post. Ah well.

I hate these posts to be so long and, thus, more tedious... but time is valuable as summer wanes and tasks seem to add up rather than get checked off the list. So I find myself having to play catch-up here.

Ready to pick!

This being mid-harvest it is our joy to have to eat all these fresh vegetables. A truly local, sustainable diet in a temperate climate limits the fresh vegetables that are available year-round, and I don't buy things out of season. The result of this is absolute bliss when eating these wonderful foods when they are in their prime. Corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers grace nearly every meal to our unadulterated delight!

Starting where we left off, Thurs 9/13. Starting with my daily Tea with some Humboldt Creamery 1/2 & 1/2, I had a Vege scramble to start the day. Lunch was Shakefork grain toast, with Cypress Grove Fromage Blanc, now one of my new favorites! Snacking on fresh cherry tomatoes and snap peas from the garden while a dinner of local grain fed beef stewed with Warren Creek potatoes and our own celery and carrots in the solar oven for dinner. I am delighted to have grown celery successfully for the first time! This dinner was rounded out with a cuke salad.

I have been home alone for a few days, but our hens refuse to slow down on egg production. This inspired me to boil up a bunch of eggs for quick meals or snacks. Therefore
Friday began with a simple boiled egg and Asian pear. Have I mentioned how lovely Asian Pears are? Pear flavor but always crisp and refreshing. Our young tree had its first real crop this year and we have been enjoying themn as a regular snack.
Lunch was my now favorite fried pepper, chevre, tomato and sliced cuke sandwich, using fresh pesto instead of mayonaisse on the bread. Decadently good.

Asian Pears

Ending this day with more of the wonderful grilled vegetables that are the ultimate harvest dinner.
 
Saturday, September 15 I was going off to the North Country Fair in Arcata. Did the many chores and cleaned up the leftover stew and beet gratin for breakfast. 
Finding local fair food is always a challenge. As in restaurants, the folks running the booth often do not know where the food is from. I didn't want one of the local Humboldt Hot Dogs (Sausages from Premiere meats), but found the Fish Tacos featured Local rock cod. Everything else in them could have been local (cilantro, cabbage, tomato, tortilla), so I went with that. At a friend's we dined on veggies & corn I had brought from home and sauteed local chicken breast.


Sunday in town we started with a toasted Los bagels Whole wheat bagel w/ Zimmerman black raspberry jam. Yum. I will have to make Blackcap jam next year, too!
One of the most reliable places in Arcata to find locally sourced ingredients is Brio Cafe, and there I lunched on a wonderful Chicken Pot Pie and salad.
After arriving home that evening we had a dinner of steamed vegies and poached local rock cod.
Monday breakfast was Egg & toast, lunch a cuke and tomato sandwich, then back to town where I grabbed Wildberries deli chicken kabob, marinated grilled tofu & Vegies. assured these were all from local sources. Went to a fabulous concert at HSU that night - Crosby, Stills & Nash. We are so lucky!
Tuesday I woke up in town & had simply Brio bread toast to start the day, but a filling lunch at Eureka Los Bagels - a toasted bagel w/ Cypress Grove fromage blanc & Fish Brothers smoked salmon. This was the first restaurant I went to where the person behind the counter knew what they had that was locally sourced, but was doing the Eat Local Challenge herself! 

Fresh canned Albacore

One of my tasks in town was going by the Marina and buying some fresh Albacore from the fishermen there. Every few years I get tuna to can. I put it up in 1/2 pints in a variety of 'flavors', some plain, some with Tamari soy sauce, Lemon-infused Olive Oil, jalapeno peppers, or herbs. I am sure the tuna can be caught more than 250 miles from our coast, but the Pacific Ocean is right here and here is where these fishing boats are based and I consider it local eats. 
That said, I had a truly fantastic dinner of grilled vegetables and tuna. I was lucky I remembered to save some before i put it all in jars!

Wednesday started with tea and scrambled egg with Humboldt Creamery cottage cheese, a little chives sprinkled on top and an apple on the side. I lunched on simple toast from my Shakefork grain bread and chevre. Dinner, however, was special. As it was a homecoming mealfor my husband, who had been on a camping trip with our son. In honor of this we had grilled local grass-fed beef steaks along with grilled vegetables and some Elk Prarie Pinot Noir. A festive way to end the day.

Wild blackberry snacks!

Thursday was simpler fare, Bacon, egg and toast for breakfast, a fried pepper, tomato and chever sandwich for lunch. Dinner was the sage-seasoned Tuscan beans with Shakefork corn polenta, chopped fresh tomato, and fresh pesto. Another glass of the Pinot made it elegant.

Friday was tea Bacon and egg with polenta on the side and some of our own apple cider. Another classic fried pepper, chevre and tomato sandwich for lunch, and a company dinner of grilled local salmon, cuke salad, and corn on the cob.

Saturday, Sept. 22 began with a 'boogaloo' of solar cooked Lundberg rice (grown within 250 miles, but their office is out of the area), vegetables and egg, cider and an Asian pear.
Our company brought a loaf of Loleta bakery Tyrolean 9-grain bread, so our fried pepper sandwich featured that, along with garden fresh cucumber and tomato and Loleta Cheese roasted Garlic jack. MMMmmmm...
Another company dinner of a grilled locally raised pork roast, corn on the cob and the grilled summer squash, eggplant, peppers and onion, that I just cannot seem to get enough of.
This brings us to today!
Along with my daily tea we had a late Sunday breakfast of an egg and fried pepper sandwich on the Loleta bakery bread. A light lunch of corn fritters using the leftover corn cut from the cob, our eggs and a bit of Shakefork flour, salt and baking powder.
One more night with company and I will be making Chile Rellenos with Loleta Cheese Jack, Ancho peppers from our garden and eggs from our hencoop. With this is solar cooked Spanish rice, fresh salsa and corn on the cob (Which we will be having every night for a while!)


Ah yes, it is easy to celebrate the delicious abundance of local foods in our area, especially when you garden. Bon appetit!