Opulent Cottage: Day Five of Eating Local Food, and Foodie Friday, too!

All this week, I’ve been writing about our week-long adventure of eating only local food from our Dallas Farmer’s Market. And now it’s Foodie Friday, one of my favorite days of the week! I love that we have an entire day devoted to talking about food, thanks to sweet Michael Lee at Designs by Gollum. Here is the menu for the fifth day of our adventure:

For Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Sausage

This dish is a super-favorite of my family’s. The salty, perfectly spiced breakfast sausage that we buy from Truth Hill Farm is always a treat. The pastured pork they produce is wholesome and delicious, as well as low-fat.

To make: Brown one package breakfast sausage. Remove half to cool. Immediately put in freezer bag and save for another meal. Scramble eggs with sausage. We use 6 eggs for the 3 of us, and it’s the perfect amount for a half package of sausage. When cooked, grate a little cheese over all. Serve with fresh fruit. Salty, and

sweet – delicious.

For Lunch: Quesadillas

I heard another mom say one day that kids will eat anything if it’s inside of a quesadilla. You know, it’s true! Husbands, too. Maybe not spinach, but nearly everything else. This is another great dish for using leftovers. Endless concoctions of meats, veggies and cheeses can be put together, keeping this dish new and interesting, even if served repeatedly.

Today I carmelized a leftover half of a yellow onion, then tossed some spinach into the pan just until it was wilted. I heated up my trusty cast iron skillet and layered a few thin slices of fresh mozzarella, bits of leftover chicken, the vegetables, and a small grating of cheddar between two tortillas. I grilled each side just until the tortillas were browned and the cheese was melted.

For Dinner: Grilled Sausages, Slaw, Corn Cakes with Mango Salsa

My husband has what I call “the sausage gene.” So, we eat a lot of sausage! Often, but not in vast quantities. We make certain to eat grass-fed, grass-finished meats, full of much more omega-3 than their grocery store counterparts. Served with a wealth of healthful vegetables, this meal is an example of Michael Pollan’s food rule: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Mango Salsa:

1 large Mango or 2 small, peeled and chopped

1 Tomato, chopped into dice

1 Jalapeno, diced finely, seeds and membrane removed

¼ red onion, diced finely

Juice of one Lime

A drizzle of local honey

Salt to taste

Mix together at least an hour before serving. Cover and refrigerate.

Adding black beans to this salsa creates a wonderful vegetarian dish, also.

Slaw:

½ green cabbage

¼ small red cabbage

Mayonnaise

Sour cream or unflavored, plain yogurt

2 T vinegar

Local honey

Salt and pepper

In a mixing bowl, blend several tablespoons of mayo with and equal amount of sour cream or yogurt. Don’t you just love my exact measurements?! Add vinegar, a drizzle of honey, and S&P to taste. If the sauce tastes good, so will the slaw. Mix in finely sliced cabbage and some ribbons of carrot, if desired. Other spices can be added, too: celery seed, caraway, or cayenne are all good choices. Have fun with your mixture, and make it your own!

Corn Cakes:

1 cup Cornmeal

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup all purpose flour

2 t Baking powder

½ t salt

1 large egg

1 cup milk

1 T local honey

2 T olive oil

1 cup fresh corn

Chopped green chiles, optional

Chopped cilantro, optional

Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, oil and honey. Mix all together with corn. Add a little more milk if mixture seems too thick. Add chiles and cilantro, if desired. Cook in an oiled cast-iron skillet (or heavy pan) for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Click on these links for Day One, Day Two, Day Three, and Day Four.