Day 150 LocalrootZ Project (June 1, 2010)

Breakfast

Plain Swallowtail Yogurt 

w/ Honey

Lunch

New Leaf Salad Mix

Sonnental Pepperjack Cheese

Dinner

Lobster & Asparagus Casserole

over a bed of Spinach

After the success of yesterdays casserole we decided to take the leftover lobsters that we got sent home with and replicate the dish with the addition of the lobster.  Boy was that a good idea !  The crispy bread crumbs with a cheesy lobster asparagus base make a perfect combination ! More casseroles to come in the future.

Transportation Today

Work Commute : 22 miles bicycle

Day 149 LocalrootZ Project (May 31, 2010)

Breakfast

Plain Swallowtail Yogurt

w/ Honey

Lunch/Dinner

Lobster

Spring Green Salad

Fiddlehead Asparagus Casserole

Dessert

Chocolate Chip Cookies

(being a guest its only polite to indulge)

A beautiful Memorial Day.  Cassi and I had cookout arrangements over her Mothers house in Windham.  I was told that we would be having Maine lobster and I decided to whip up a few sides with the stockpile of food we have in our fridge.  I have seen a few recipes for fiddleheads ad cheese and decided that today I would jump into the world of casseroles.  I blanched a few handfuls of fiddleheads and asparagus as I toasted off some spelt mother oven bread.  After the bread was at a toasty level of satisfaction I threw the chunks into the Cuisinart food processor and made breadcrumbs for the crust.  The cheese sauce was a combination of Sonnental Raw Swiss cheese, goat milk, whole wheat flour, raw butter as well as a handful of chopped garlic and shallots.  After putting all the ingredients together my mouth was watering.... As for the salad I kept it fairly simple, New Leaf Salad Mix, Sonnental Pepperjack cheese, 30 Acre Fermented Carrots,Green Spark Radish and Olivia's Cucumbers.  The meal was delicious with a few cheats seeing as it was a social occasion ! 

Day 144 LocalrootZ Project (May 26, 2010)

Breakfast

Plain Swallowtail Yogurt

w/ honey

Lunch

New Leaf Salad Mix

Sonnental Pepperjack Cheese

Dinner

New Leaf Salad Mix

w/ Tomatoes & Rubykraut

Lobster & Butter Roasted Asparagus 

Dessert

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

w/ Honey Ice Cream

Today was a wonderful day with very hot temps rising up into the high 80˚'s.  We decided we deserved a nice lobster dinner which would lead to a not only tasty but also quick dinner.  The less time I have to spend over a stove when the temps reach this hot the better.  Id say that is the one major downfall of living in the attic apartment... HOT HOT HOT !  Anyhow we spent a lil time at the Monument Square Farmers Market and purchased a handful of goodies; garlic, rhubarb, eggs as well as a handful of onion seedlings to get the garden plot fully planted...tonight.  Well that was the plan but after relaxing for a half hour to digest dinner we were then greeted to a temperature drop of 20˚'s in a half hour which created a windy fog induced sunset... keeping us close to home instead of making the trek down to uor garden plot.  With extra time on our hands I decided dessert had to be in the evenings agenda... I proceeded to whip up the strawberry rhubarb crisp that is sooo yummy yet so easy...

Here's how it goes...

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

1 Large Stalk of Rhubarb (Alewife Farm)

2 cups Strawberries (frozen from Stevenson's)

1/2 cup Honey (Tom's)

1 Stick Butter (Caldwell)

2 cups Rolled Oats (Aurora Mills)

1 tsp Sea Salt

Butter a 6 x 9 pan and remove outside stringy layer of the rhubarb...

slice in 1/2 inch pieces similar to  chopping celery.  Dump in buttered pan and add the strawberries as well.  In a mixing bowl combine honey, salt, and butter and beat with mixer.  Slowly add desired amount of oats and remeber to taste it to get the right oats to sweetness... to taste. Preheat oven to 425˚ or less if you dont want you crisp browned... bake for aprox 20-30 minutes.

Transportation Today

Work Commute : 22 miles bicycle

Day 113 LocalrootZ Project (April 24, 2010)

Breakfast

Plain Swallowtail Yogurt

w/ Honey

My standard early morning hold me over.... then my weekly kitchen assessment where I go through the cabinets and fridge and make sure I know everything I already have before stepping over to the Winter Farmers Market.  I should mention this was the last week @ the Free st. location for this year... lets hope and encourage they keep it going for years to come !  Anyhow have no fear they (the farmers) will be down in Deering Oaks starting on Saturday morning and some of them are starting to already trickle in on Wednesday in Monument Square... 

Ok so here are they great things I found at the last Winter Farmers Market

Four Pints Olivia's Garden Cherry Tomatoes

Thirty Acre Farm

Lovage

Chives

Catnip

Nettles

Fishbowl Farm

Spicy Mesclun Mix

Spinach

Watercress

Goransen Farm

La Ratte Fingerlings

Braising Greens Mix

(Chard, Mustard, Kale)

Rhubarb

Other things I got was another 6# jar of greater Portland honey, pastured eggs from Buckwheat Blossom, some halibut & lobster tails from Port Clyde, Butter from Caldwell as well as a selection of herbs thyme, mint, savory from L & H Farm during the Wednesday market... with such a great selection of new things i was off to the kitchen for our early afternoon feast...

Lunch/Dinner

Finely Minced Radish, Sauerkraut, Fermented carrots, chives

over Arugula & Watercress sauteed with green garlic, shiitake mushrooms and lobster tails

1 Egg Sunny Up 

Slice of Aroostook Wheat 

Dessert
Baked Macintosh Apples
w/ Oats & Honey
Topped with Maple Ice Cream

Day 101 LocalrootZ Project (April 12,2010)

Breakfast

Sunny Up Egg

w/ baby beet greens

Lunch

Spicy Carrot & Bean Soup

Dinner

Pan Seared Lobster & Scallops

over baby beet greens, rainbow chard, cucumber and watercress

w/ balsamic radish garnish

Glass of Coastal White

Dessert

Apple Crisp made from scratch by Cassi !

w/ Honey Ice Cream

What a day !  The food today was amazing...Im really enjoying constructing plates with these beautiful little baby greens... I have some already sprouting in my living room and out on the rooftop deck.  Cant wait for a meal full of our harvest.  Couple more weeks.. though I have found the flavor of a 1" onion sprout is pretty hard to compare.... a few strands of those on a scallop soon come !

Transportation Today

Work Commute : 15 miles bicycle

Day 078 LocalrootZ Project (March 19, 2010)

Breakfast

Fuji & Braeburn Apple

Lunch

Plain Swallowtail Yogurt

w/ raw honey

Dinner

Cider Bay Scallop Salad

Hard Shell Lobster

Cheese Plate

Glass of Mead

 Happy Friday ! This week was a busy one and I am very glad to have the blog completely updated and back in order.... sometimes a couple days can fly by without the computer time being spent.  Anyhow the weather was beautiful once again reaching into the mid 50's on my commute back into Portland after work.  With so many leftovers on the menu this week I had a few extra dollars hanging around in my pocket so I decided to make a little special dinner for such a arduous week.   The lobsters have been a bit on the pricey side for the last few months of the winter.... and it seems the price is still holding firm @ 5.99/# for hard shell chix.  I picked up a couple one pounders and supplemented the dish with a half pound of fresh bay scallops.  Once home and greeted by my loving girlfriend... I got the lobster pot going and proceed to concoct a dish with the scallops.  First I sauteed some stuttgarter onions and german hardy garlic... (garlic supply running low, scapes coming just around the corner though !)... to that I added the rest of the winter spinach we had left... probably about 3-4 cups... add a splash of fermented cider and a tbs of honey butter.  I then tossed the scallops with a spoonful of cider syrup and added that to the mix... searing on high heat for 2-3 minutes.  On the side I sliced a little bit of Hahn's End Eleanor Carraway and Swallowtail Honey Havarti cheeses.  A perfect meal to end my work week, Cassi on the other hand is just getting underway !

On the garden front I got my Fedco seed order in last week and am patiently awaiting their arrival.  Ill give the varieties when they arrive... Im also currently gathering supplies to build a cold frame on our rooftop deck and finally got a couple types of spinach (space, bloomsdale) as well as a small container of arugula seeded.  Tomorrow I will be making the trip down to the garden plot and tilling up the soil for the spring planting!

Transportation Today

Work Commute : 15 miles Bicycle

Day 045 LocalrootZ Project (February 14, 2010)

 Valentine's Day

Breakfast

Lobster Eggs Benedict

w/ Garlic & Arugula

bottle of Mont Marcal Sparkling Rose

vintage 2005

Dessert
Homade Stawberry Ice Cream
ontop of a Fudge Brownie
from Aurora Provision's

Today was Valentine's Day and Cassi had to work for the evening so I had the task of making our morning the special part of the day.  What better way to celebrate my love for such a wonderful girl than to make her absolute favorite breakfast... "Lobster Eggs Benedict".  Now Im getting pretty good in the kitchen but I had yet to poach an egg or make hollandaise sauce.  So I looked up a few how to's on you tube and read a few recipes in the cook books I have laying around in the kitchen... planned a point of attack and hopped to it after a early morning bicycle ride around the peninsula, down to the flower shop for a nice bunch of sustainably grown roses... As I rolled back home Cassi was rising out of bed and was greeted with her bouquet and the menu for her breakfast !  Needless to say she woke very quickly with the news and off I went into the kitchen to prepare the feast.  Cassi was quick to help with the more time consuming part such as picking the lobster meat out of the two pounders I picked up off the wharf the prior day.  That's right fresh lobster meat... I don't cut corners on Valentines Day !  We kept it 100% local except for the special bottle of bubbly rose to add color to the table and a little morning buzz... We used Sage toasted Spelt Bread from Mother Oven for the base and fresh local eggs from Sunset Acres, Arugula from Laughingstock Farm and butter from Nezinscott Creamery .  The hollandasie came out wonderfully... whisked over a pot of simmering water... the poached eggs came out tasty but the white never enveloped the yolk... I used cider vinegar in the simmered water that I heated to 180˚ and I also whisked the water before I slowly added the eggs, but in hind site I think I got the water moving a little faster than chef Ramsey had advised... oh well they tasted delicate and perfect, they  just didn't look as wonderful as I had hoped... Im gonna start practicing every morning next week and learn how to master the technique for next time.
For the evening agenda...with Cassi having a long night of working hard, I wanted to satisfy her constantly suppressed craveings for chocolate. Seeing as it was Valentines Day I thought a nice cheat from the local diet would be a luscious fudge brownie, homemade by our favorite local delicatessen, Aurora Proviosion's, would fit the bill.  Topped with some 100% local strawberry ice cream and it was the perfect ending to a wonderful day !

Transportation Today

Errands : 3 miles Walking 

5 miles Bicycle

Day 018 LocalrootZ Project (January 18, 2010)

Breakfast

Two Eggs Sunnyside Up

w/ side of Rutabaga & Shredded Carrot

Lunch

Plain Sheep's Milk Yogurt

w/ Raw Honey

Dinner

Winter Green Salad

w/ honey cider vinaigrette & Romano Cheese

Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes

w/shredded cabbage & carrots

Lobster

 Glass of Bartlett's Coastal Red

Transportation Today

Work Commute : 15 miles Bicycle

Errands : 3 miles Walking 

Day 001 LocalrootZ Project (January 1st, 2010)

Breakfast

Baby Kale, Redwing Onion Omelet
w/ gouda & goat cheese
side of Red Norland & German Butterball Homefries

Dinner

(see pictured below)

Roasted Red Beets & Parsnips

Wheat Berry Salad w/ Delicata Squash

Lobster

Semi Dry Poverty Hill Cider

Dessert

Baked Cranberry Apple w/ Oats

topped w/ Maple Ice Cream

the first day... We live in Maine, we celebrate with a scrumptious lobster dinner.  As for the wheat berry salad on the side, it was my first time cooking with wheat berries and although they take quite a bit of time to cook (hour and a half) they have a texture and flavor that was lacking in our previous local eating endeavor.  I will definitely be posting more recipes with wheat berries as I experiment but here is how this dish come to the table....


WHEAT BERRY SALAD
Soak 1 cup of wheat berries in 2 cups water for a couple hours...adding water as the berries absorb it.  Bring to a boil / cover / simmer 45 min
Add chopped garlic, onions and sea salt to taste
Simmer for another 30 min
(Keep sampling berries and adding water based on consistency) 
Roast cubed delicata squash  
w/ 1 tbls butter 
Combine Squash and Wheat Berries and let sit
covered for 15 min