Once again I find myself facing the challenge of preparing and enjoying one local meal per week during the dark days of winter. How do I let my daughter talk me into this?
ok I have to admit that I enjoy the challenge and I’m better prepared this year. One of the most important lessons: plan ahead. This year I have veges from the garden stored and frozen, fresh eggs from the barn, home grown chickens, a pig coming after the holidays, 40 pounds of blueberries picked in July, and I live in the middle of dairy country. After all the postings about the problems of finding local butter I count myself among the blessed.
First meal: fresh eggs whipped into a frittata with the last of the brocolli (harvested in the snow) onions and peppers from the garden, local cheddar cheese, and bacon from the pig we got last year. Partnered with homemade waffles made with North Dakota wheat, Land O Lakes butter, fresh eggs from the barn, and a little organic sugar topped with Minnesota Maple Syrup.
The best part – Danny and Sam (my boys) helped do all the chopping and stirring and cooking as well as the eating.
Meal 2:
- 5 Layer Lasagna in my new Italian baker
- Noodles from Dakota Growers Pasta Co
- Garden goodies: tomatoes and onions
- Freezer: ground pork from our local pig, pesto from the garden (we had a bumper crop of basil this year)
- Hidden Stream grass fed beef hamburger
- Bongaard’s Mozzarella cheese
- exceptions: olive oil and parmesan cheese
served simply with a loaf of Italian rustic bread from Lake Winds Coop bakery
no pictures, we were so hungry and busy decorating the tree that I totally forgot about the picture!