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One Local Summer 2011 – Week 20

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This one I REALLY knocked out of the park. I mean, REALLY REALLY. Fennel isn’t a popular vegetable in our home mostly due to the husband’s hatred of all things anise/licorice. Since he was away, I figured I had a chance to give it a try.  I stumbled across a recipe for roasted fennel and potatoes, but I only had sweet potatoes from the farmer’s market, so I figured hey, starch is starch, right?  Well it was amazing.  The sweet potatoes roasted with the fennel covered for 30 minutes at 400F in the oven, covered in some olive oil, salt, garlic, and pepper.  Then the browned sausage was laid on top and left uncovered for another 30 minutes.  The amazing way these flavors worked together has made it a staple, and what really surprised me was that the anisey flavor of the fennel really disappeared in the baking process.  Needless to say, the leftovers didn’t last for very long, and I’m making this combination a staple for future recipes!

Sweet Potato, Fennel, and Sausage Bake:
Sweet Potatoes – Jack’s Farm
Fennel – Jack’s Farm
Garlic Turkey Sausage – Mountain View Organics
Garlic – Jack’s Farm
Non Local – Salt, pepper, Olive Oil

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One Local Summer – Week 20

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Pumpkin, again. Yeah when I get on a kick, I get on a kick, but at least here there are plenty of other ingredients involved. The recipe took a lot of searching – I wanted to use both bison and this little Long Island Cheese Pumpkin I brought home last week. Finally, I came across a recipe for Potato Topped Beef and Pumpkin Casserole which ended up being the perfect recipe to use for my new little casserole dish. Naturally, there were a few modifications. I didn’t have any carrots, so I used turnips instead. Left out the beef stock cube, and used three types of potatoes. The pumpkin makes for a great base, but the sweet pumpkiny flavor is mostly lost in the recipe – I suppose this works out okay, since the flavors all run together well, but I was expecting more smack-you-in-the-face pumpkin. Still, it’s delicious, and VERY much edible.

Oh and if you’re curious, the dish comes from Karin Lorenc on etsy.

Potato Topped Beef and Pumpkin Casserole:
Bison – Backyard Bison. Sirloin
Flour – Mill at Anselma. Bread Flour
Onion – North Star Orchard
Turnip – Maysie’s Farm
Long Island Cheese Pumpkin – Smith’s Produce
Red Wine – Paradocx. Barn Red
Sweet Potatoes – Brogue Hydroponics
Purple Potatoes – Unknown Vendor at Anselma
White Potatoes – Brogue Hydroponics
Non-local – Olive Oil, spices

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One Local Summer – Week 16

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I got a little backed up with putting in posts, so here’s the catch-up! This week was a Summer Garden Galette. I pretty much threw in any vegetable I could find that would fit in the crust and wow was it good. There’s a decent amount of prep work involved since everything has to be cooked before it goes in the shell, but all that can be done while waiting for the crust to chill in the fridge. I guess it sounds easier than it is, but if you’ve made a pie crust before, it’s really the same process. The bottom layer is sweet potatoes covered by tomatoes and squash, mushrooms and onions, and then topped off with a heavy dose of goat cheese. YUM!
Summer Garden Galette:
Onion – North Star Orchard
Summer Squash – Smith’s Produce
Zucchini – Smith’s Produce
Sharp I Chevre – Shellbark Hollow Farm
Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes – My Garden
Sage – My Garden
Sweet Potatoes – Brogue Hydroponics
Mushrooms – Oley Valley Mushrooms. Crimini.
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – Mill at Anselma
Non-local – Butter

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