Sprouts

For dinner tonight we had our made-up version of chicken schwarma (ground chicken with onions, cumin, garlic, pepper, coriander), homemade pita bread, yogurt sauce (thank you Sugar River Dairy), cucumbers, peas and sprouts. It was all good, somewhat pale but seemed "spring-like."

What I really wanted to highlight was the sprouts. These were mung bean sprouts given to us by friends last week. As with most sprouts you soak them overnight then drain the water, rinse them every 12 hours or so and watch in astonishment as they swell and , well, SPROUT right before your very eyes. They taste like Spring! Sweet, mild, green--they are good in sandwiches, dressed with a vinaigrette or eaten by the handful. Beans sprout quickly and easily as do many grains. You can also plant the seeds in some shallow soil in a sunny window and then just snip off delicious bits of green when the plants are only a few inches high.

100 FOOT diet

Think we went a little far afield (pun intended) during our experiment last August? Check out the amazing work of the Dervaes Family in Pasadena, California and their 100 Foot Diet . Anyone want to try?

Blurry

I am going to blame the blurriness of this photo on the tears that came to my eyes while cutting these amazing potatoes. Never mind the fact that the camera wasn't tearing up . . . I was just struck by the beauty of color and form--oh were they good to eat!

Still eating locally

So what does one eat at the tail end of winter before the bounty of the growing season is here again? Well, last night we ate quite well! (Remember we are not strict 100-milers anymore, just careful local eaters).

We had spinach salad thanks to Snug Haven Farm. We took bacon from Pecatonica Valley Farm (thank you wonderful Carr family) and sauteed it until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and fry finely diced onions or shallots. When the aromatics are crispy, toss in some balsamic vinegar and reduce it, pour it hot over the spinach--yowza that is good!

We also had homemade bread with canned tomatoes and Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, (the little fresh mozzerella balls).

To round out the meal we sauteed leftover ravioli from RP's Pastas and topped with a bit of rosemary salt from Renaissance Farm.

Yummy!

We're baaaaaack!

Happy Spring everyone! Never mind that we got 8 inches of snow the day after the equinox, the robins and juncos are back and mailboxes everywhere are being flooded with seed catalogs. In a desperate attempt to assure ourselves that things would indeed grow again after this very loooooong winter in WI, we grew some wheatgrass on our kitchen counter. The mesmerizing sprouts has us all checking the progress of growth hourly. Our final crop was devoured by our chickens and we started another batch!



We have been blessed, over the winter, with a variety of opportunities to talk about our family and local food. Scott spoke at the North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association conference in February about the "anatomy" of a Farmers' Market customer, we have spoken as a family at a couple different venues and most excitingly we will be writing the weekly update for the Westside Community Market this year. I am excited to get to know some of the vendors we haven't bought from in the past. I am excited to meet consumers and hear how the market fits in with their lives. I am excited to promote the market as a place of food procurement and also as a community.

Want a little inspiration? Check out the writings and links of folks who participated in the Dark Days of Winter Eat Local Challenge.