Knitting 40 shades of green

Dark Days Challenge: week 3

This is going up a bit late because I meant to post it before heading out last night but that didn't happen.  At least my excuse is that I was at a Slow Food's party.  My local Slow Food convivium has decided to have a supper club of sorts that will be eating together every two months.  Last night was at a lovely apartment on Capitol Hill overlooking Lincoln Park.  We had finger foods and drinks.  I brought some of my homemade cranberry liqueur and a pomegranate avocado salsa while it wasn't local it is very seasonal and this is the only time of the year I get a chance to make it.  The food was wonderful as one could expect of this kind of gathering.

For my local meal this week, I continued to work with what I had on hand and will have to make a concerted effort to pick up a few things this week since I used my last local onion and could really use some milk (which has always been a bit tricky for me to find).  I made acorn squash stuffed with sweet Italian sausage, caramelized onions and cabbage.  I served it with a green salad with pear and feta as I had some of all of these ingredients left over from my trip to the Dupont Market last week. 

Local foods

• cabbage:  not sure of the name of the farm but I know it is in Charles County, MD (20 miles)
• acorn squash:  Olin Fox Farms, Reedville, VA (81 miles)
• onion:  Three Way Farm
• sweet Italian sausage:  Smith Meadows Farm Berryville, VA (53 miles)
• mixed salad greens, Archor Nursery Galena, MD (74 miles) 
• pear, Black Rock Orchard,  Lineboro , MD (63 miles)
• feta cheese, Keswick Creamery, Newburg, PA (94 miles)
• honey, my mother's bees, Kents Store, VA (86 miles)

non local foods:  salt, pepper, olive oil (Monrovia, CA), balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard

November 30

• So this challenge is over. I blogged everyday for the month of November. I don't feel burnt out like I have some years.  I imagine that I will continue to blog on a regular more regular basis. It has been a good exercise overall.  
• Somehow the days after vacation are the most tiring days at work and with the chill and damp today left me feeling completely beat (so much so that I didn't go to my favorite Monday night skating).
• As a send out to Breast Cancer Awareness Month let me direct you to the bra auction being hosted by the Quilters of South Carolina.  50 bras were decorated by the quilters and are now being auctioned to raise money for  The Best Chance Network providing free breast and cervical screenings to the medically under served in South Carolina.
• I love this sweater but I wonder if I would ever finish it if I was to begin it.  I think I will set a goal to finish three things before I can buy the pattern and the yarn.
• I have been staring at my computer screen for the past ten minutes and just realized that I need to go to bed.  See you in December. 

Dark Day Challenge: week 2

Normally, before I jump on board with one of the challenges, I make sure that I have some staples and buy extra of those things you always need to have on hand like flour, onions, garlic.  Well, this one I happened upon after it had already started and then I didn't manage to get to the market last weekend.  I have one red onion (and there were no yellow onions at the market this morning) and no all purpose flour (although I do have whole wheat and buckwheat flour).  Yes, and there are grits and corn meal.  I am debating on ordering the white flour -- I kind of prefer to use the King Arthur White Wheat Flour when a recipe calls for white flour and I am never certain of the impact of having a 5 or 10 pound bag of flour delivered by USPS or UPS.  Just not sure it is the most efficient.  I do have domestic olive oil and organic sugar from Florida and a little left from my friend's daughter's inlaws' sugar farm down in Louisiana.  (Are there enough apostrophes in that sentence?)  I guess eating local and looking at where things originate has become more a part of my everyday grocery shopping whether I am participating in a challenge or not.

I whipped up some soup based on what needed to be used up soon and then picked up some greens, cheese and pears for a salad and some sour dough bread to eat with it at the Dupont Circle Farmers' Market today.  I had some potatoes from my CSA which needed to be used along with some cauliflower from the a couple weeks ago when the cab driver bought me vegetables at the Old Town Market.  I had recently had a broccoli cheese soup at supper club and riffed on the recipe to make a cauliflower cheese soup with the local ingredients that I had on hand.

Spicy Potato Cauliflower Cheese Soup

• 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 3 cups cubed potatoes
• 2 cups water
• 3 chile de arbol
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1/8 cup jalepeno slices
• 5 ounces cheese
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  

1. boil potatoes and cauliflower in water with chiles and celery salt until tender (I used my pressure cooker for this
2. mash with a potato masher
3. mix in tomato sauce and finely chopped jalapeno slices (the recipe I adapted from used diced tomatoes with chiles)
4. mix in cheese and heat gently until melted
5. Enjoy!

Local foods

• cauliflower:  not sure of the name of the farm but I know it is in Charles County, MD (20 miles)
• potatoes:  Olin Fox Farms, Reedville, VA (81 miles)
• water:  tap, Occoquan Reservoir, VA (13 miles)
• tomato suace, pantry made this summer from tomatoes from Shlagel Farms, Waldorf, MD (16 miles)
• onion flavored cheese curds:  Fields of Grace Farm, Remington, VA (44 miles)
• jalepeno slices, found these a little freezer burnt in the freezer -- sure they came from the Del Ray Market but who knows which vendor
• mixed salad greens, Archor Nursery Galena, MD (74 miles) 
• pear, Black Rock Orchard,  Lineboro , MD (63 miles)
• feta cheese, Keswick Creamery, Newburg, PA (94 miles)
• honey, my mother's bees, Kents Store, VA (86 miles)
• sour dough bread, Atwater's Bread, Annapolis, MD ? (33 miles)

non local foods:  chile de arbol (Rancho Gordo, Napa, CA) , celery salt, salt, pepper, olive oil (Monrovia, CA), balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard

Shock the Monkey

Well, I have to say that I am glad that NABLOPOMO is almost over although I do think that it has got me a bit more in the habit of blogging.  I hope to blog about three times a week or so after the challenge is over.  It has also motivated me to knit a bit more which is also a good thing.

I am not entirely sure that I understand blocking.  It is something that everyone talks about but I am not entirely sure of its purpose or when I should do it.  Looking at a couple of web sites I see that they recommend that it be done before sewing a garment.  Then there is the part that says slightly dampen.  Seems I missed the memo.  I tried to teach this monkey to swim.

He coughed and sputtered and sank to the bottom of the sink.  After a heroic rescue he is now drying out on a towel.  I think I should have pulled out the neck and retried with less stitches but then I remember that babies have huge heads and I would hate for it not to fit over Baby Bella's head.

• Pattern:  My Little Monkey Romper by Cindy Polfer found in  Best of the Worsteds edited by Bobbie Matela
  
• Needles:  Knitpicks options sizes 4 (3.5 mm) and 7 (4.5 mm)
• Yarn: Knitpicks Comfy Worsted (green, brown, cream and yellow)
• Size:  18 months
• Started:  March, 2009
  
• Finished: November 28, 2009
• Notes:  This project proves to me that I could use a little more practice with intarsia but overall I think it came out well. 

Buy Nothing Day

So far so good.  I am making pizza from ingredients that I had on hand to have dinner here at home and then heading out for a concert -- the tickets were bought long ago.  Another successful day of anti-consumerism.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Random Wednesday

• I hate sewing in the ends in intarsia because I feel like I just make the whole thing look wonkier but I am almost finished with the monkey romper.
• 
  Apparently cauliflower and olives made great sheep sculptures.
• I need to better organize my freezer.
• I just discovered this band, very reminiscent of Uncle Tupelo, Blue Rodeo and other alternative country bands I was listening to in the early  90s.  Check them out.
• The sun has finally come out today in time to set.
• Can someone explain pillow shams to me?  Are you supposed to take them off to sleep on -- are they for "extra" pillows, what is the deal?  I just got some with my new quilt and I am not sure how I feel about them.

Advance Notice

Every year on "black Friday" I post about Buy Nothing Day which at it's very heart is a day where you don't make any purchases.  No early riser door buster specials.  No buying all of your Christmas gifts and fighting over Cabbage Patch dolls or is it Tickle Me Elmo or the new Wii system (or whatever it will be this year).  No getting up at the crack of dawn for a chance to buy a flat screen plasma TV. Just stay home and keep your wallet and credit cards under wraps for the day. 

 

Every year  Bill complains that I told him too late and he has already been out for coffee or what have you .  So this year I am telling you ahead of time, Bill.  November 27 is Buy Nothing Day.  Don't say I didn't give you any warning.

 

Dark Days Challenge

The weather has turned colder and rainy as it is wont to do in the late fall.  It will likely stay this way for quite a few months.  It is harder and harder to get out of a toasty warm bed on a Saturday or Sunday morning and head out to one of the three markets that stay open year round.  After Thanksgiving most of the farmer's have left the Old Town Market, leaving wholesalers and crafts people.  Although I have noticed more of the local producers have been coming out so maybe a few will stay through the cold months.  That leaves the Dupont Circle Market and the Courthouse Farmer's Market which are both about 12 miles from my house.  The other local markets have closed for the season.  I get lazy about making an effort to eat locally although I try to keep it seasonal (there are occasional lapses). 

So when I rediscovered Laura at (not so) urban hennery , who I had lost touch with when she changed blog hosts, and realized we had just started the 3rd Annual Dark Days challenge, well, I signed up.

So, what's the deal?

• Between now and March 31, 2010 cook one meal each week focused on SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) ingredients and write about it on your blog.
• For the purpose of the challenge, local will be defined as 150 miles. 
• Local and independent producers will be included even if all of there ingredients aren't from within the range -- I won't be getting into where did you get the flour to bake the bread, or the feed for your chickens.  I am interested in supporting local farmers and local business alike.
• I will be taking the exemptions of oil, spices, salt, possibly sugar but I will try to keep it to a minimum, and maybe the occasional citrus since it will be in season.  These I will make an effort to procure from sources as close as possible.  (Florida citrus as opposed to California or South Africa).
• I may just add the olives after the pictures are taken because everything is better with olive.

I am starting a week late, but will see you later this week with my first entry into the 2009/2010 Dark Days Challenge

Supper Club

 

Since at least 2001, maybe even longer, I have belonged to a supper club that was founded through the Cooking Light Community Message Boards.  Once a month we gather at someone's house for a potluck around a theme.  On some occasions we have actually cooked together but most of us live in places with small kitchens which aren't so conducive to group cooking.

This month the theme is super foods.  I used the Google to come up with a list of 12 super foods.

• oats
• broccoli
• pumpkin
• yogurt
• blueberries
• oranges
• walnuts
• beans
• salmon
• spinach
• tomatoes
• turkey

There are others avocados, tea, onions, honey, dark chocolate.  Really they are just any whole food with high nutrient values. 

I didn't consult the database to see what everyone was bringing until today and there wasn't an obvious gap, there was soup, two entrees, a salad, a side vegetable and a dessert.  I toyed around with the idea of a second dessert but since it is a "cooking light" group, I opted for a grain salad.

Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts
(adapted from a recipe form November 2003 Sunset Magazine)
Makes 10 - 12 side dish servings (8 cups)

• 1 cup wild rice
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon raspberry vinegar
• 2 cups celery
• 3/4 cup green onions
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. In a large pan combine quart water, salt and rice.  Bring to a boil over high heat; cover and reduce heat and simer until rice is tender and most grains have split open (about 45 minutes).  Drain in a colander and let cool.
2. In the mean time, spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in a 325 degree oven until lightly golden under the skins (about 10 minutes).  Chop coarsely.
3. Chop cranberries in half.
4. In a medium size pan combine the sugar and 1/2 cup of water over medium high heat.  Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils.  Remove from heat and stir in the cranberries.  Let sit for 8-12 minutes, gently stirring occasionally.   Strain syrup from cranberries, reserving the syrup.
5. In a large bowl, mix the rice, cranberries, celery, onions, oil and vinegar.  Stir in 2 Tablespoons of the cranberry syrup, taste and add more as necessary to moisten and sweeten the salad.  (Save remaining syrup for other purposes -- I was thinking with a little vodka and soda water over ice).  Cover and chill.
6.  Before serving, stir in walnuts and dried cranberries.  You may garnish with additional green onions if you desire