OLS Week 10: Watermelon, Peach and Basil Salad

Watermelon, Peach and Basil Salad, originally uploaded by Brooklyn Forager.

We traveled up to the Great North Woods and stayed in a cabin with friends for the weekend. Saturday night was our night to cook and while I wasn't able to make a completely local dinner, I did make this lovely Watermelon, Peach and Basil Salad for dinner.

The recipe came from Mark Bittman's 101 Salads article and is simply delicious. His first choice is watermelon and tomato which I've made to great success. I couldn't find non-red tomatoes at the food co-op, so I used his backup suggestion this time around, the peaches. So good!

The watermelon was grown in Maryland and purchased in NY. The peaches were grown in PA and purchased in VT. The basil was grown in VT and purchased in VT. Salad dressing items were pantry staples.

Watermelon, Peach and Basil Salad (serves 6)

1 small watermelon (mini-watermelon worked perfectly)
3 fresh not-too-ripe peaches (a little texture goes a long way)
2-3 big handfuls of basil (or to taste)
olive oil
sherry vinegar
sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper

Chop up the fruit and tear up the basil. Mix well. At this stage, set aside and dress just before serving. When preparing the dressing, make to taste and be creative.

Locavore Dinner Party, Part I

DSC00792, originally uploaded by Brooklyn Forager.

My friend JK and I decided to host a dinner party celebrating the bounty of summer. While the bulk of the work would come Saturday, we got started early Friday evening with a beautiful crumble using berries handpicked at my in-laws home in Vermont.

We used a great simple recipe for Any Season Fruit Crumble from epicurious.com and really only tweaked it slightly. The lemons I had were on the not-so-fresh side, so we decided to use fresh orange juice instead. However, my sack of oranges turned out to be a sack of ruby red grapefruits. With no other option, we used the grapefruit juice which gave the dish a nice layer of sweet tangy freshness that I just might keep as a trick up my sleeve.

The dish does rely on a lot of non-local pantry staples that I have to grapple with to continue baking in my locavore adventures. For now, I'm satisfied to have featured these amazingly fresh beautiful berries in such a great way.

OLS Week 8: Pan-fried Bluefish with fresh salsa and local green salad

This week brought me a lovely set of local bluefish fillets from FreshDirect.  Borrowing from the Baked Fish Nicosia from Moosewood's Sunday Night Suppers, I dredged the fillets in cornmeal mixed with a hint of cumin, coriander and cayenne.  I pan-fried these lightly in oil and served with a fresh tomato salsa of local tomatoes, basil, and garlic, all tossed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt and pepper.

To complement this, I made yet another kitchen-clean-up salad with Satur Farms butterhead lettuce, radishes, scallions and cucumbers along with a medley of homegrown herbs (parsley, Italian basil, Greek basil, mint and sage). 

I also enjoyed a bottle of the Benmarl Slate Hill white which is a slightly sweet blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, Riesling and Traminette.  The wine was a rich golden color with hints of citrus and soft floral notes.  This is a great summer sipping wine, either with seafood or tart fruits and cheeses to help balance the sweet and crisp flavors. 

Pictures of all to follow.

FreshDirect: bluefish fillets, Satur Farms lettuce

Farmers' Market: radishes, scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic

Homegrown: Italian basil, Greek basil, parsley, sage, mint

New York State of Mind...for Water?

While on a hunt for essentials at Duane Reade yesterday, I came across something new and intriguing (at least to me).  Apparently Duane Read has taken it upon itself to capture the goodness of Hudson Valley spring water and bring it to city dwellers (isn't that where our tap water comes from?). 

I have to say that I have pondered buying the "most local" bottled water when I am in the position of searching it out (really, a tap and a filter are all this girl needs).  There haven't been too many opportunities, so I'm interested to see this new product.  The taste is fine...and DR promises that it is clean and natural.

Will this be the new local "it" product? We shall see.

OLS Week 7: Medley of Salads

This week, we had a kitchen clean-up meal before a trip down to Pensacola, FL. In order to use up the vast amounts of produce sitting in my fridge, I made a meal composed chiefly of salads. The first salad was a simple tomato salad with a combination of the very first little tomato that grew on our very own patio (see photo above), homegrown basil, salt and pepper. The second salad was a fairly diverse one made up of all local items: butterhead lettuce from Satur Farms, carrots, cucumbers, scallions, garlic scapes and radishes from Phillips Farm, and a not-so-local dressing. The taste was bright and fresh and incredibly local!