Local Harvestry

I'm reading this book. It's rocking my world. And it's got me paying more attention to what I'm eating and how I'm cooking it.

It's also caused me to jump into the local/organic food game. The world of eating well is decidedly complicated-- so many strong opinions and attitudes. It's also crazy that eating food with less ingredients, handled by less people, is so much more expensive.

Anyway, I'm in the process of searching for a balance between eating healthier, more nourishing food and staying within a budget that also includes having a big community dinner once a week and dinner guests at least once or twice a week. (Not to mention the occasional meal for a new mom or sick friend.)

This quest has led me to join a local food co-op. There's a market about a mile from our house called Local Harvest. They have a weekly grocery program that provides you with all kinds of local, organic and homemade goodies. It's a cool program, but every now and then, you end up with a bunch of stuff that you really don't know what to do with. (example: radish shoots. I know they're usable, but I really don't care to use them.)

I'm going to make an effort to post the haul from the week and then mention a couple of recipes that came from the bounty. To recap, here's are the pics from week one:

Week 1: (all local/organic) Spinach, fair trade mid-roast coffee, jasmine rice, sweet potatoes, cabbage, acorn squash, swiss chard, havarti-esque cheese and ground lamb. 

Week one was a challenge, but I went in with a plan. Half the cabbage, the lamb and about a quarter of the rice became a Greek take on an old Polish staple-- guwumpki, or stuffed cabbage rolls. They came out good, but honestly, I'm just not a huge cabbage fan and lamb is one of the few meats I don't really care for. Oh well. I also ended up making a sweet potato/acorn squash mash. I roasted the squash and boiled the potatoes, mashed them all up and added a tic of brown sugar. Delish. Finally, the chard married some pecans from our Thanksgiving trip to Texas and turned into an incredible pesto. I'll definitely make that again. I also used the rest of the cabbage to make cabbage soup and froze it. It's okay. But it could use about a pound of corned beef. 

The munchkin with a giant head of cabbage.

Week 2: Didn't get a pic of the haul, but it consisted of: locally made fresh whole wheat pasta and organic spaghetti sauce, homemade meatballs made of pork from a local farm, baguette from a local bakery, farm eggs, spinach, butternut squash, radish shoots, *minutina, purple onions and cara cara (pink navel) oranges.

Woooo! This week was awesome. :) You can probably infer that we made the most incredible spaghetti of our lives using the pasta, sauce, meatballs and spinach. I should've taken a pic of it, but it was too delicious to waste time photographing it. I also grabbed the cheese from last week and some Trader Joe's avocados along with the spinach and minutina to form a magnificent omelet. Twice.

And the best discovery of the week? Cara cara oranges. Wow. I mean, my first bite of that orange turned my whole afternoon around. I have since purchased 19 more. (Five of which were to give as a gift.) No lie. I'm hoping they will help me fend off the flu season. I recommend you try them immediately.

I got this week's box today and it's full of weird stuff. :) I'll keep you posted.

*a cold weather salad green prized in Italy for its mild nutty flavor and crunchy texture. Grown in IL, it looks like grass, but is excellent tossed in salads.

Best of 2012: Pinterest Recipes

Well, here we are! 2013.

I thought about doing a 2012 recap... but to be honest, the majority of my 2012 was monopolized by the adventure of new motherhood. I didn't see a whole lot of movies. I wasn't particularly impressed with much popular music and I didn't go to many shows. I did finish Harry Potter in March! It was so great! But then I didn't pick up another book for the rest of the year, ha! So I wouldn't have much to report as far as a year end review...

However, I was exceptionally hungry in 2012. And subsequently, made a LOT of recipes from Pinterest. While Todd would probably be content to eat the same 7 meals a week-- I get bored, or moreso, curious. I like buying new groceries. And life is to short to eat the same thing all the time. :)

So, without further ado, I present a few of my favorite Pinterest Meals from 2012: a collection of links to recipes that have all become staples in the Genteman house over the past year:


BREAKFAST
I'm a carbs for breakfast (or lunch. or dinner.) kind of person. I just realized that these are basically three variations on the same thing. But they're all delicious. Take your pick-- and if you've got the time, add eggs and your favorite breakfast meat for a more balanced breakfast:

• Blueberry Banana Baked Oatmeal
• Berry Breakfast Cake
• Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

LUNCH (VEGETARIAN)
Mexican Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa and Black Beans- as the linked blog says, if you've never had quinoa (say KEEN-waa, not Kin-NOAH, like I did when I asked for it at the grocery store), this is a great way to try it. These will keep for a few days, and still taste good reheated and topped with fresh cheese.

Superfood Scramble (Quinoa, Edamame, Egg, Avocado)- I'm brand new to the whole runny egg yolks thing, but lately, I'm really into it. This was the gateway recipe for me. It's super healthy and filling. Even my carnivore husband loved it-- but in this house, avocados cover a multitude of meatlessness.

Sweet Potato Burgers- This recipe takes two of our favorite (healthy) things and combines them into a burger so yummy, you won't care that it falls apart while you're eating it. White beans are are more aesthetically pleasing in this recipe, but black beans will work just as well! Yum!


DINNER
Angel Chicken- creamy and delicious. I serve it over brown rice with a side of broccoli and pretend that doing so cancels out the use of a can of condensed soup. I also used lowfat (neufchatel) cream cheese and usually sub chicken broth for white wine, because I rarely have the latter on hand.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta- This is a great one for company. I like to put the toppings (Tomatoes, avocado, etc.) in bowls and let people add their own as desired. If you need some greens to combat the pasta, try this White House Salad-- the vinaigrette is divine.

Southwest Salad- I can't even explain to you how yummy this salad is. You don't even need chicken on it. There's enough going on that you don't even notice it's not there. The dressing makes this salad, for sure. (I assemble mine in a mason jar and shake it up. I also add a considerable amount of water to mine, unless you like your dressing REALLY thick.) It's the perfect summer lunch or dinner. Thanks again for introducing me to this one, Laura. :)


SIDES & DESSERTS
Salsa Avocados- If you like avocado, this is a scrumptious, simple appetizer, light lunch or side dish. And it couldn't be easier. If you happen to have homemade salsa on hand? Even better.

Zesty Italian Potatoes- Cube some red potatoes (leave skin on), drizzle with olive oil, coat with a package of zesty Italian dressing mix and stir to coat. Add a bit of minced onion for flavor, then salt and pepper to taste. Cook in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until tender. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. (You could also wrap them in foil and throw them on the grill-- equally good.)

Chocolate Mayo Cupcakes- Mayo haters, get over it! You WILL NOT find a better chocolate cupcake-- and believe me, I know. I've looked. You can ask my roommates. Anyway, even if you hate mayo on sandwiches, you could argue that mayo was intended for such things as this, as it's made mostly of eggs. I'm legitimately obsessed with these cupcakes and therefore only make them on special occasions. I recommend the addition of chocolate icing, and if it's your birthday? Dunk the top of that iced cupcake in mini chocolate chips. Then put them in the fridge to get chilly. Annnnd my mouth is watering.

If you liked this list, you can click here to follow my food board on Pinterest. Enjoy!