Day 09 Local Eating Community Giveback

March 15, 2011

Breakfast

Plain Swallowtail Yogurt w/ Honey

Lunch

Slice of Honey Buckwheat bread

w/ whipped honey

Dinner

Kabocha Squash

stuffed with Oyster Stuffing

side of blue potatoes

Day 08 Local Eating Community Giveback

 March 14, 2011

Breakfast

Plain Swallowtail Yogurt w/ Honey

Lunch

Slice of Honey Buckwheat bread

w/ whipped honey

Dinner

Haddock & Oyster Stuffing

w/ Golden Beet & Arugula Salad

Jeio Crede Prosecco of Valdobbiadena

A wonderfully local dinner that was fairly easy on the pocket.  the Beets are from the day before so that was as easy as slicing them up, tossing with cider vinegar from Ricker Hill Orchards, a spoon of honey and a couple handfuls of Olivia's Garden Arugula that cuts into the sweet with a nice spicy pepper and crisp crunch.

As for the fish, I purchased it today on my bicycle commute home.  It has been really nice being back on my summer bike... mostly because of the two inch nobby tires with carbide studs that are on my winter bike. They are great when I'm in the midst of a blizzard, but not so great when the roads are clear... and now with most of it melting away from my route Im back on my Surly LongHaul trucker !

If your interested you can check out my bicycles here !

 Ok I digress, so where was I, Ok, I stopped in at Free Range Fish and went with a pound of the cheapest haddock at 5.99/#... from there it was home to a smiling Cassi who was ready for a relaxing night with the kitties and some warm food.  After the cupboard inspection, we found that we had a jar of dried wild foraged mushrooms (lobster, woodear, chanterelle, morel, & maitake mushrooms), and in the fridge were some Damriscotta oysters from the weekend that we never cracked open as well as some odd and ends of our favorite local breads stashed away in the freezer.  We got to work with me chopping and Cassi peeling...a stuffing stock was made with shallots, garlic, leeks, re hydrated mushrooms, white wine, and raw oysters.  From there we chopped the bread in tiny cubes, tossed in local sunflower oil and baked till crisp.  Seafood Stuffing over haddock is a favorite of ours and once the weather warms up we don't make it often so we decided to celebrate the flavors of late winter and accompany it with a non-local beverage.  A little Italian bubbly courtesy of Bisol Jeio Crede.

A wonderful Prosseco that Cassi and I had the pleasure of learning more about from Mateo Bisol himself.  He is the grandson of Jeio, his family grows their grapes on is the prestigious Cartizze hill, where his families roots can be traced back to the 16th century. 

After a wonderful dinner we decided the only better way to finish off this night was with dessert.  Luckily Cassi had hunted down some Ricker Hill Macintosh apples at the market early that morning so it was an easy decision to make our old stand by...

Dessert

Apple Crisp 

w/ Maple Ice Cream

the ice cream consist of 1cup heavy cream, 2cup raw milk, 1/3 cup maple syrup and a dash of sea salt

the apple crisp is simply sliced maine apples topped with a

crisp that is Maine Butter, Maine Grown Oats, and honey

mmmmm Im hungry lets go look in the fridge !

Day 096 LocalrootZ Project (April 07,2010)

Breakfast

Macintosh Apple

Lunch

Smith Farm Plain Yogurt

w/ honey

Dinner

Seafood Stuffing Scallops

w/ Roasted La Ratte Fingerlings

and here is how it went down....

 toast a loaf of Mother Oven Spelt Bread cubed...

 

thaw out Port Clyde Selections....

Start simmering onion, carrot, scallion and butter...

add pureed shrimp & wood ear mushrooms...

Bake it all up nice and crisp over some scallops...

 

 Serve over bed of arugula with a glass of coastal white wine and give thanks for LIFE !

Transportation Today

Work Commute : 26 miles bicycle

First day on the extended summer route... 

Day 074 LocalrootZ Project (March 15, 2010)

Breakfast

Gala Apple

Lunch

Plain Smith Farm Yogurt

w/ raw honey

Dinner

Baked Haddock & Wild Mushroom Seafood Stuffing

w/ Roasted Yukon Gold

and Honey Glazed Carrots

Dessert
Baked Apples and Oats
w/ Honey Ice Cream

a loaf of mother oven spelt bread to start the stuffing

A jar of soaked Chanterelle, Wood Ear & Black Trumpet Mushrooms

Butter simmering leeks, stuttgarter onions and garlic ready for the mushroom stock

Strained mushrooms with broth added to the simmer pot

Mushrooms and clams go in the food processor (our dinner guests are not mushroom fans so Ill hide em this time) 

 

Puree and add to the simmer pot... then add the loaf of mother oven bread that got toasted in the oven

Layer haddock fillets and cover with seafood stuffing

prepare sides roasted yukon golds, honey roasted baby mokums & purple haze carrots

 

Dinner is served !

 

 So Cassi and I made a decision that since Monday usually ends up being our premium dinner night, that we spend the most time preparing... maybe we should start bringing friends over to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  Today was the start of this idea and we opted to invite our newly engaged friends  Becky and Doug over.  They are always great company and Doug being a wine expert always pleasantly surprises us with plentiful bottles from his cellar !  Tonight was a perfect meal that made Cassi and I realize how much we love sharing our table with other people.  We capped of the night with a sweet white dessert wine that accompanied a not so delectable dessert... it tasted fine but the batch ended up being a little soupy compared to our usual cream textured ice cream... oh well not every ice cream batch can turn out stellar !

Transportation Today

Work Commute : 18 miles Bicycle

Day 034 LocalrootZ Project (February 03, 2010)

Breakfast

2 Apples

Braeburn, Enterprise

Lunch

Smiling Hill Farm Plain Yogurt

w/ Raw Honey

Dinner

Baked Haddock & Stuffing

w/ Roasted Shepody Potatoes

 

(that's Merrimac making her blog debut such a sweetie...at least until we fill the food dish, then she could care less about us !)

This meal was one of the our favorites!  This meal has been in our rotation for years but i must say I went above and beyond this time and it paid off.  First thing I noticed was the stuffing... I used all the heals I had saved from Mother Oven's Spelt Bread as well as a handful of old slices of Aroostook Wheat which made for a very wholesome based that I toasted in the oven @ 300˚ tossed lightly with canola oil and a smattering of sage and rosemary saved from the herb garden.  In a sauce pan I melted a half stick of butter as I pureed two bulbs of garlic, a redwing onion, a large stuttgarter onion, a handful of clams and a tad of seaweed.   Then scoop the puree and into the melt butter on medium heat.  After the mixture begins to slightly brown i added 2 cups of water and simmered for 10 -15 minutes as the bread toasted.  I then pulsed the bread cubes in the food processor and added to the simmered mixture.... cover let stand for 10 minutes.  Butter large glass pan and place 2# Fresh Haddock on in the pan... topp with the stuffing mixture and bake @ 400˚ for 30 minutes or so... I always put the tray onto the top rack for the last five minutes to brown up the stuffing a bit... an tadda ! A true New England meal paired with some straight up roasted potatoes and a bit of sea salt !

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