Eat Local Challenge: Day 1

We survived.  Just barely. 

The stomach bug we got this very morning was an interesting twist.  That really wasn’t what I had in mind when I said I wanted to hit the ground running.  Nevertheless, I managed to drag myself out of bed at 8 a.m. and get some bread rising, shaped, proofed, and out of the oven so we’d have something to eat for lunch.

Lesson #1: bake your bread ahead of time.

Now, before I get into what we ate today, let me explain all of the various ways we cheated.  We have decided to make certain allowances for certain family members who have certain things they really can’t live without.  Here’s the list:

Husband: Ice coffee (this is for everybody’s sake)

Children: Cheerios and/or Corn Chex, peanut butter, bananas (because they didn’t ask to be a part of this experiment, yet here they are).  These exemptions don’t apply to the adults.

Me: Oil (Try as I might, I couldn’t find local oil.  I’ll use butter and lard where appropriate, but please don’t make me use them to dress my salads).  Spices (I’ll use local herbs whenever I can, but I think pinches of black pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, and cumin here or there are okay).  Vanilla extract (because I’m giving up chocolate and I’m pissed about it).  Yeast (I really don’t think we should be talking about this).

We also tried to finish up the last remnants of non-local things in our refrigerator so they wouldn’t go to waste.  Things like orange juice and a block of some generic cheddar cheese.  However, I did my best to banish the other stuff to the freezer or pawn them off on the neighbors.  The result was a pretty good day considering how it started.

Breakfast:

Yogurt
Cereal with milk
Juice

Yogurt from Stonyfield Farm (Londonderry, NH).  Milk from Crescent Ridge Dairy (Sharon, MA).  Orange juice (just finishing up the carton)

(I’m usually a breakfast person, but not today)

Lunch:

Grilled cheese sandwiches
Apple slices
Carrot sticks

Bread was made from organic whole wheat and spelt flour from Wood Prairie Farm (Bridgewater, ME), honey from the Boston Honey Company (Holliston, MA), Maine sea salt from Stonewall Kitchen (York, ME).  Cheddar cheese should have been from Smith’s Farmstead (Winchendon, MA), but I wasn’t about to throw away the remaining non-local cheese.  Apples came from Autumn Hills Orchard (Groton, MA via Drumlin Farm's CSA).  Carrots from Drumlin Farm (Lincoln, MA). 

Dinner:

Polenta with Tomato and Sausage Sauce
Steamed broccoli
Raspberries
Maple Ice Cream

Polenta was made from corn meal from Gray’s Grist Mill (Westport, MA), vegetable stock made from local vegetables (Drumlin Farm), leftover cheddar cheese from lunch.  Sauce made with Italian sausage from Codman Community Farms (Lincoln, MA).  Tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, parsley, and broccoli from Drumlin Farm.  Marjoram from my backyard.   Raspberries from Dick’s Market Garden (Lunenberg, MA).  For the ice cream, the cream came from Whittier Farms (West Sutton, MA via Russo’s, Watertown), milk from Crescent Ridge Dairy, eggs from Smith’s Farmstead, maple sugar from the Warren Farm & Sugarhouse (North Brookfield, MA).

(Luckily, I made the tomato sauce yesterday.  Otherwise, I don’t think I would have had time to finish it.)

I’ve been cooking all day and I’m exhausted.  However, the polenta with sauce was excellent and there are plenty of leftovers.  The bread made four loaves, two of which are in the freezer.  And the maple ice cream was simply fabulous (and fabulously easy), so I’ll have to share the recipe.  But, not tonight. 

Zzzzzz…

Comments

[Husband]

The maple iced-cream is great! It won't be around much longer I fear!

[pyewacket]

Hey, Tammy! I have to go tonight to pick up an enormous quantity of frozen, local, grass-fed meat that I thought wrongly was going to be delivered at the end of the month at the earliest. I found out this morning, so I don't exactly have room in my freezer for it all. My point being - if you want to come to Cambridge either this evening or tomorrow night to buy some beef off me, I can fulfill all your local cow-related needs. Just email me. (I feel like I should be wearing a raincoat and whispering - "Psst- wanna buy a steak?")

[Tammy]

Pyewacket: That's an offer I can't refuse. What's the password?

Husband: Your worst fears have been realized.