Day 155 LocalrootZ Project (June 6,2010)

Breakfast

Plain Swallowtail Yogurt

w/ Honey

Lunch

Grilled Pepperjack & Tomato

w/ Salted Asparagus

Garlic Root Soup

Dessert

Honey Ice Cream

Day 154 LocalrootZ Project ( June 5,2010)

Farmer's Market

An early morning stroll down to Deering Oaks had me shopping lightly in preparation of eating some of our own garden delights this week...

I did manage to pick up some rhubarb from Alewife Farm, Yogurt, Provolone and Mozzarella from Swallowtail Farm, Chard from Fishbowl, Tempeh from Lalibela Farm, Tomatoes from Olivias and Green Garlic from Thirty Acre. Oh and a couple tomato plants... more more more!

Breakfast

Whole Wheat Pancakes

w/ Maple Syrup

Lunch/Dinner

Garlic Root Soup

w/ Salad

Dessert

Rhubarb Crisp

w/ honey ice cream

I was doing a little organizing in the fridge and discovered my cache of carrots, still crisp and sweet.  Not wanting to push my luck I decided I should use up the carrots and start a soup.  Simple and easy... a kitchen sink kinda soup with old scallion ends, green garlic leaves, lovage, baby beets n greens, shallots and a handful of dried and fresh herbs.  Simmer for a couple hours and serve...

Day 099 LocalrootZ Project (April 10,2010)

Breakfast

Plain Swallowtail Yogurt

w/ Honey & Cider Syrup

I woke up with a day full of projects and I started off listing them with a nice bowl of yogurt for company.  Adding a little cider syrup made it anything but ordinary and someday I will market my Maine Apple Pie Yogurt so you can all enjoy it too !  Anyhow after a lil breakfast and some picking up around the studio (the painting studio has kinda been converted into a seed germination station... for the time being) I was off to the Winter Farmers Market... Im counting this as number 8? and there will be  two more to go before the traditional Deering Oaks Market starts on Saturdays beginning in May...  I even saw a couple trucks in Monument Square this Wednesday but I was to busy pedaling to my destination to see what was going on there... Outdoor farmers markets coming soon ! 

 Anyhow here is what I brought home from the market this week...

Goransen Farm

Baby Swiss Chard

Baby Red Russian Kale

Easter Egg Potatoes QT

La Ratte Fingerling Potatoes QT

Lalibella Farm

Black Bean Tempeh

Sunflower Oil

Caldwell Farm

1/2 Gallon Raw Milk

1# Raw Butter

Thirty Acre Farm

Micro Greens PT

Claytonia (Miner's Lettuce) QT

here is what Claytonia looks like...

(It was originally eaten by the miners in CA because it was the first green to appear in the spring.  It has a very mild spinach like flavor in the leaf and the stem mimics the texture and flavor of a sunflower sprout.  I have noticed it growing wild on a few west end sidewalks near me... however I try to forage my foods where dogs are less likely to squat... so I have not picked my own yet... maybe this week I will kick around the Eastern trail on my bicycle commute to see if i can score some more !)

Fishbowl Farm

Beet Greens

Watercress

Spinach

Bunch of Radishes

Swallowtail Farm

Jar of Creme Fraiche

2 Loaves Spelt Bread

(apparently my request for it last week did not fall on deaf ears.... this wonderful bread is made by one of the interns at Swallowtail and is made using spelt flour from Webb Farm)

I also grabbed cucumbers from Olivia's Garden, pastured eggs from Buckwheat Blossom, and another 6# jar of Dark Honey that came from a colony of bees located right here in the greater portland area ! Wow them was some heavy bags to trodd back to the West End with !

Now it was time to wake up Cassi and get breakfast rolling...

 Lunch

Sunnyside Up Eggs

over Micro Greens & Miners Lettuce (Claytonia)

Side of Assorted Baby Taters & Sauerkraut

Slice of Spelt Bread with Creme Friache

 I decided to utilize some of the wonderful greens from Thirty Acres in this breakfast dish... the plate began with a sprinkle of micro greens that had been mixed with some finely sliced sauerkraut and tossed together.  I garnished the side with a bunch of claytonia and placed some baby homefries over the greens.  Topped off with a duck egg for me and a chicken egg for Cassi with some fresh spelt bread on the side... 

Spring Breakfast !  So fresh and subtle that I can't wait for tomorrows breakfast...

 Dinner

Spicy Carrot & Bean Soup

I have a ton of Maine dried beans... it was a bad season so I over stocked the cabinet due to the fact they would only be available to purchase for about a month before they'd be tagged as OUT OF STOCK till next season... with all these beans and a hefty bag of slightly slimy Nantes and Purple Haze carrots I decided to start a soup early in the morning...

Here's the beginning...

It started with about three cups of beans; jacobs cattle, yellow eye, red kidneys, a couple of crushed and dried ancho peppers, a handful of black trumpet & wood ear mushrooms, some local seaweed and a whole lot of sliced carrots...then lots of simmering...

After a few hours of simmering I used my immersion blender and turned it into a thick soupy bowl of spicy carrot bean soup.. more pics when I serve it up again !

Dessert

Cornbread 

w/ Whipped Honey

Day 067 LocalrootZ Project (March 08, 2010)

Breakfast

2 apples (gala, fuji)

Lunch

Plain SwallowtailYogurt

w/ raw honey

Dinner

Bowl of Smashed Yukon Gold Potatoes

w/ garlic, leeks & onions

Bowl of Seaweed Shrimp Soup

With Cassi a bit ill with the flu I almost forgot about dinner tonight... but after a few crackers and some ginger from the medicine cabinet she was up for something light so I decided a quick soup would suffice as well as a supplement of mashed potatoes for myself... the soup was sooo quick and easy.  I chopped/ground up a 1/4 cup of wild mushroom mix (black trumpet,woods ear, maitake etc) and added that as well as a handful of seaweed to a pot of water.... Bring to heavy boil.. in a side dish rinse a handful of raw maine shrimp and put in soup bowl uncooked.  When your seaweed/mushroom broth comes to a boil and simmers for 5 minutes add liquid over shrimp... let sit for 2-5minutes for the shrimp to cook and the flavors to mingle.  Then its time to eat !

Transportation Today

Work Commute : 18 miles Bicycle

Day 028 LocalrootZ Project (January 28, 2010)

Breakfast

 2 Eggs Over Easy

w/ Corn & Bean Dip

side of Spelt Bread

Lunch

Townhouse Farm Plain MooGurt

w/ Raw Honey

Dinner

Shitake Seaweed Soup

w/ Tofu

Grilled Aroostook Cheese

 

Transportation Today
Work Commute : 15 miles Bicycle
Errands : 3 miles Walking