A Week of Eating Local, Day Two

Our second day of eating  local was a flavor extravaganza, also. Locally grown food really is fresher, tastier, and more delectable!

 

For Breakfast: French Toast with Fresh East Texas Strawberries

 

Mix 2 eggs, ½ cup milk, and a couple of dashes of cinnamon in a low, round bowl. Dip slices of yesterday’s homemade bread into mixture, one or two slices per person, and saturate them thoroughly. Melt butter in a skillet, and toast the bread for several minutes on each side. Serve with fresh sliced strawberries and maple syrup or local honey.

 

Homemade bread makes the best French toast EVER. Seriously.

 

For Lunch: Pasta y Caponata

 

My version of caponata is a fusion of Sicilian and Greek cuisines, with a little lemon added for zestiness. The pasta we bought at the Farmer’s Market had a lemony essence also, adding to the overall deliciousness. It was purchased at Pastabilities, a supplier of Pappardelle’s pastas. They’re next to El Mercado restaurant. Amazing stuff, really. So worth the $8 per pound.

 

3 medium eggplants, peeled and sliced ¾ inch thick

Salt (RealSalt, purchased from Truth Hill Farm)

Olive oil

½ small yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 T red wine vinegar or lemon juice

Kalamata olives, chopped

Capers

½ t lemon zest

Fresh basil

Cheese, parmesan or feta

Cooked pasta (½ pound dry)

 

Peel eggplant and slice into ¾ inch pieces.  Salt lightly on both sides and drain in a colander for 20 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Sauté in a small amount of olive oil on both sides, until browned and softened. Remove eggplant and sauté onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add chopped tomatoes along with reserved eggplant, breaking apart large pieces, and cook for 10 minutes. Add more olive oil as needed.

 

Mix in remaining ingredients to taste, and toss with pasta. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red chiles, if you like it spicy. Garnish with lemon slices. Makes 3-4 ample lunch servings.

 

 

For Dinner: Rosemary Lemon Chicken

 

This is such a simple, but satisfying dish that can be made in no time at all. Rinse a pastured chicken, about 4.5 lbs, and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix the juice of two lemons, ¼ cup of good olive oil and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary. Whisk mixture and set aside a few tablespoons for potatoes. Pour over chicken, saturating every bit. Place leftover lemon rinds inside cavity, along with additional rosemary, if desired. Tuck wings in, and tie legs with twine. Place chicken on roasting pan with rack. Roast at 350 for 45 minutes.

 

Wash 1 pound red potatoes. Cut into quarters. Toss with reserved olive oil mixture and place into roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and some more chopped rosemary. Put in oven along with chicken after 20 minutes.

 

Raise oven temp to 450, and cook chicken and potatoes an additional 20 minutes to ½ hour. Chicken skin should be crispy, and the juices should run clear when you pierce the thigh meat. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. The chicken will continue to cook a bit while it is resting. For a smaller chicken, adjust cooking times.

 

If necessary, remove the potatoes to keep them from burning. If the pieces are large, they may need to cook longer while the chicken is resting. Remove from the oven when they are fork-tender. I like them a little browned, also.

 

Save every scrap of your delicious chicken, and use the trimmings and carcass to make some broth. Later this week we’ll use the rest of the meat in some quesadillas!

 

Day One and Day Two of this challenge have me thinking differently already. I had to run to the store yesterday to pick up some paper products, and at first it was really weird to not be shopping for groceries. I walked around the store though, looking at the produce, realizing that the food I had purchased this week really looks better, and is so much more fragrant, too. The Canton tomatoes really smell like tomatoes, and look like tomatoes, with their beautiful cracked, imperfect skins. The lemons are bursting with tart juices, and the onions and potatoes are firm, not mushy at all. The chicken we made really tastes like chicken. I’m looking forward to the market already, and may have to go down this week just to walk around and say hi to all the lovely folks we met last Saturday.

 

Off I go now, to prepare for today’s feast. See you tomorrow!

Comments

[Brenda Kula]

What a great idea! That food looks delectable. I'm just not that good a cook though.
Brenda