We're Baaaack!

I've signed up again!
Rebel Localvore that I am, I created my own category - 'Extreme lifestyle'. My plan is to eat local foods for every meal with the exception of a very few ingredients: salt, spices, tea,  baking powder & yeast. If possible I will try to create meals that forgo much of those as well.

Again, I will chronicle my journey through the amazing bounty of our area. It all starts September 1.
To learn more, click here.

Some of our local bounty

28 down, 2 to go

Monday, work day, paperwork, phone and orders.
I start with Brio toast with a thin slice of Loleta cheddar cheese,a fine butter substitute, to accompany my tea.

We want to make the most of this decidedly cooler (some 30 degrees cooler than yesterday!)  but sunny day. Throw some tarps over things, put others away... batten down the hatches for impending change in the weather.

Break time means a Monday brunch. We make omelets filled with chopped crookneck squash, onion, bell pepper, parsley, burger, & Loleta jack cheese. I season mine with our "Thaibasco" sauce. There is cider to drink and honeydew melon on the side.  The honeydew is perfectly ripe - a sign of more to come. We grow these melons in containers in a greenhouse.
 Before going back to work I put together a dish of solar Spanish Rice (see recipe here) while we still have sun. To make it more local based, I leave out the cumin or Mexican seasoning and add some of my ground chilis (sparingly) and chopped cilantro. This way I'll have a ready made rice dish for some busy evening, rain or shine.
While it cooks I go back to work.
Finally done (work & rice both), we get out to harvest, put away, and cover up anything that needs to stay dry. If the change in temperature wasn't enough to remind us of the season we hear a distant clamor... First Geese! The migration is in progress - two large "V's" high in the sky heading SE. Very cool.

Day done. We dine on local line-caught rock cod, cooked in olive oil with my fish seasoning. With it a pile of steamed crookneck squash and sliced beets w/sour cream. We love beets. I will pull up a bunch of them and steam them ( these were steamed yesterday) and put them in the fridge to use on salads or whenever. This dish, usually made with butter and salt & pepper, was just fine with the beets heated in a tiny bit of olive oil and then steamed with about a Tablespoon of water. Just before serving I stirred in the last of our homemade sour cream. A perfectly local dinner. Except for the olive oil all from Humboldt county - again!
I have my evening tea and put the dried pears into jars to seal. We begin to refill the dehydrator with more tomatoes. It is during weather changes that the dehydrator is most valuable. Might be no more placing the trays outside for a while.

Back on the computer I find a message in my e mail - Arcata did not make the Top 20 Best Farmer's Markets in the US!! As good as that market is, and as computer savvy as Arcatans are, I really thought they might get out the vote.
Sponsored by  American Farmland Trust , "...committed to protecting the nation's best farm and ranch land and improving the economic viability of agriculture." They held an online contest to find the most liked farmer's markets in 3 size categories.
Maybe next year...

LocalCarnivore...

My husband has been known as a cheeseburger aficionado, so the way to best engage him in this project was via the local ingredients cheesburger. But we will come back to that...

A busy day today, business, canning (tomatoes, as mentioned and turkey stock from a bird we ate just before the challenge started, but never got to the apples), farm chores and afternoon babysitting of our granddaughter.

For lunch I had a cucumber and tomato sandwich on Co-op Bakery bread. My favorite, but sans mayo... I used Lindah's Hot & Sweet mustard instead. I LOVE this mustard... but something was lacking, so I had to make some mayonnaise.
I have not made mayo in a looong time, and then only by hand with a whisk, but I did not have the time. So I brought out my trusty Joy of Cooking (the latest edition - I have 4) and the blender and made a pint + of mayonnaise so easy & fast I couldn't believe it. Cool!
It is done thus:
Place in blender:
1 large egg at room temp
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
dash cayenne
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. vege. oil (I did not want to use flavorful olive oil, so I used organic safflower, the other salad oil I keep around.)
Blend on high with lid on until combined well and slowly add 1/2 c. vege. oil followed by 3 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice, white wine vinegar, or a combination therof.
When thoroughly blended slowly add:
1/2 c. vege. oil and blend until thick, scraping down sides of blender as needed.

That's it!
This done and an extra pint size jar at hand. I started some sour cream as well by putting 2 cups heavy Humboldt Creamery cream and 2 Tblsp. of their cultured buttermilk in it and shaking vigorously. After sitting, covered, 24 hours in a warm place it should be thick, delicious, sour cream.

Dinner was our special all-American LocalVore cheeseburger with a side of coleslaw. I made the burgers the same as always, with local to our immediate area organic grass-fed beef, my "Meat Treat" herb blend, garden onion & garlic, but without salt or Worchestershire sauce mixed in. We melted some Loleta Sharp Cheddar on top and served them on Brio Bakery focaccia with garden lettuce & tomato and the new homemade Mayo. The coleslaw was the shredded cabbage & carrot classic with chopped parsley, all from the garden. The dressing was the American classic as well, with a twist: Homemade mayonnaise & red wine vinegar, local milk, honey, and - my exception - salt.
We paired it with the rest of the bottle of Vinatura Red Table Wine. It was much better with a stout burger to balance it.

To meet the challenge as closely as I can, I'm mostly cooking without salt and not adding any at the table. As much as possible, I have been seasoning exclusively with herbs and condiments.
My personal opinion is that most food is really just a vehicle for a good condiment and, because of that, I have always made a lot of them. I also keep good store-bought ones in the pantry. I am delighted that Fred's Horseradish and mustards are from our bio-region. One of them will work it's way into the menu before the month is out.