All-local meatloaf filled with veggies

Two things: a confession and a truth are combined in this post.  I confess that I have never had or made meatloaf in my entire 35 years of life. I'm totally telling the truth (about the meatloaf and my age).  Everytime I think of meatloaf I'm reminded from the scene from Wedding Crashers.

We had a pound of ground beef in our freezer and I wanted to make a dish that wasn't a burger. So, I did some quick internet searching and was inspired by a recipe I found on a Paleo-focused website. Here's my version.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. bacon (between 10-12 slices)
• 1/2 c. diced onion reserved in 1/4 c. measurements
• 1/2 c. diced pepper
• 1 c. finely chopped button mushrooms (any mushroom will work well)
• 1 c. cooked kale or other hearty green (may substitute chard or spinach)
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 c. shredded carrots
• 2 tbs. stone ground mustard
• 2 tbs. ketchup 
• 2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 egg 
• Herbs to your liking: thyme, rosemary, cumin, garlic powder, dill
• Feta cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place a rack on the cookie sheet. 

On your stovetop, heat up a large pan (I used my Le Creuset). Take 2 or 3 slices of the bacon and chop finely before adding to the pan.  Add 1/4 c. of onions and all of the diced peppers. Cook until fragrant, about 2 - 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook thoroughly.  Remove from the pan and reserve.  In the same pan, cook the kale until fully wilted, remove from pan and allow to drain on a paper towel-lined plate or bowl. 

In a large bowl, add the following:

• Remaining onions
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 c. shredded carrots
• 2 tbs. stone ground mustard
• 2 tbs. ketchup 
• 2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg
• Herbs to your liking: thyme, rosemary, cumin, garlic powder, dill

Mix well, so that all herbs and items are incorporated throughout.  If found it incredibly helpful to use my hands for this part.  Add the mushroom/onion/pepper mixture. Before adding the kale, make sure it is drained well and chopped finely.  Once all ingredients are incorporated, take 1/4 of the meatloaf mix and create a small loaf.  If you are using the feta cheese, make a small crater in the meatloaf and add the cheese; bring the sides of the loaf up around to close.  Repeat this 3 more times.

On your cookie sheet, lay out 8 pieces of bacon. Wrap each loaf with bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Put in the middle rack of the oven at 400F for 35 - 40 minutes.  I checked on it after 30 minutes and decided that it needed 15 more minutes to get the bacon crispy or until the internal temp reaches 160F. 

The mister was out at a meeting, so I kept his in the oven (with the gas turned off and the oven door ajar) to keep it warm. It did not overcook the meat or the bacon.  It was incredibly moist and tasty.  I was quite surprised at how well this came out because as I confessed earlier, I have never eaten meatloaf or even attempted to cook it.

"MA......WHERE'S THE MEATLOAF?!?!?!?!"

I suspect you could make this in a traditional pan loaf and line the pan with bacon, but would likely need to cook it longer. 

I cannot wait to make this again.  The bonus to this recipe is that ALL items with the exception of the herbs, ketchup, and mustard were all local. 

Peppers and sausage

Ok, so the Local Food Lady is a Phillies fan. So is my mister.  We try to get to a game or two during the year and when we go, I always want a sandwich with peppers and sausage.  I don't know why, but that stuff is tasty (I'm sure it is all of the grease that is on the grill that adds that "super secret" ingredient).

We made a local version at home while we were waiting out Hurricane Irene.By the way, Hurricane Irene is definitely not a dinner guest you want to have.  Many of the farms in her path suffered severe crop loss and erosion issues.  Darn you, Irene!

Here's what we used to make our sandwiches:

• sweet Italian sausage from Countrytime Farm
• onions and green peppers from our CSA share
• rolls from St. Peter's Bakery
• grated pecorino romano cheese (provolone is a great substitute)

As usual, every great dish begins with olive oil + [something]. Tonight, it was onions and green peppers.  Once the onions were translucent, I added the sausage. Cooked it low and slow until ready for dinner.  Served on great French bread from St. Peter's Bakery and topped with grated cheese.

I had dinner in a cornfield

Over the weekend, the mister and I were joined by two of our friends for a very cool, farm-to-table dinner.  In fact, our meal was enjoyed in the middle of a cornfield, under a tree.



Before I start romanticizing the scene any more, I will tell you that we were under the tree trying to escape a quick-moving rainstorm. 



Last year, a neighbor friend of ours told us about the French and Pickering Trust's Homegrown Harvest.  It is an outdoor dinner with foodstuffs made by or supplied by local farms and restaurants.  We attended last year's event and had a blast. First of all, the surroundings are gorgeous...the event is held outdoors, atop a hill overlooking the cornfields and marshlands that surround us.

There are tables setup everywhere, topped with wild flowers in Mason jars for decoration. There is a live  bluegrass band playing in the background (I love bluegrass music) and the aromas have your mouth watering.  The dinner is completely all self-serve, so you can enjoy and try a large variety of foods.  Everything from the appetizers to dessert are carefully created using local products or employing the donations of local businesses.

We bought tickets for this year's event and felt raindrops falling just before we got in the car.  But, we knew that the rain was predicted to be fast, so we headed out to the Homegrown Harvest.  Even with a few passing showers, the event was a ton of fun.

This year's menu included: Frank Spera's roast pig, Eden Valley Farm's beef burgers on brioche rolls, Henry's Cafe's cold borscht soup, Amani's BYOB's heirloom tomato gazpacho, Yellow Springs Inn's blueberry soup, Becca's tomato-mozzarella napoleons, grilled spicy lamb sausage, grilled pork sausage, grilled The Farmer's Daughter new potatoes, grilled corn on the cob from Yeagers Farm Market and Pearl's Market, Kimberton CSA Zucchini tart, Sweet onion tart,  Corn and bean salad, Kimberton CSA eggplant pomegranate salad, roasted beets and lima beans with Seven Stars yogurt and feta, Kimberton CSA cucumber salad, wild greens salad, Maysie's Farm CSA potatoes with tomatillo-poblano dressing, corn jalapeno muffins.



I didn't get a chance to sample everything--that would have been too much!  Between the four of us, I am pretty confident that we tasted everything from the menu.  I'm glad that I saved room for dessert, since I had a taste of strawberry-rhubarb pie (never had rhubarb before!), peach cobbler, and fresh whipped cream.  After enjoying this amazing food in gorgeous surroundings, we all went home and went to bed early, because our bellies were so full.

I'm already looking forward to attending next year's dinner. 

This dish sends out the Bat Signal to one of our friends

When we first began participating in our vegetable CSA, there were items that I had never cooked with or even tasted!  Kale was a top one on that list; never ate it, never tasted it. I have never looked back after having my first kale dish.  Anyway, I'm rambling...this post is not about kale...there will be one in the future, I promise!

Getting back to foods that I was not used to preparing...cabbage was one of those foods.  I have a no-fail dinner recipe that is only 4 or 5 ingredients. Of course, this dish is made better with BACON.  We have a friend that has a tendency to "stop over" whenever I'm preparing this dish.  It's like the Bat Signal has been activated and he's usually in the neighborhood.

This cabbage dish is also very adaptable for a large gathering and can be made vegan, if you omit the bacon. 

Cabbage and Apples
Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 slices of bacon
• 1/2 of an onion (red or white), diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• 3 - 4 cups of shredded/sliced green or red cabbage
• 2 apples, cored, and sliced into bite-sized pieces
• Splash of red wine vinegar
• Caraway seeds
• Pierogi (optional)

In a large pot, begin sauteing your garlic, onions, and bacon. Cook on low heat, so that your bacon doesn't get too crispy before the onions and garlic get a chance to cook nicely.

Bacon getting down with onions and garlic

Add the cabbage and cook on low to medium heat. Make sure the cabbage gets to take on the flavor of the onions, garlic and--most of all--the bacon!  Your cabbage (red or green) will be cooked enough when the color begins to get very bright!

This is the right time to add your apples.  I only cook the apples until they are warmed through; or you run the risk of getting mushy apples.  Add a few splashes of red wine vinegar and shake the caraway seeds throughout the dish.  If you want, you can also top the cabbage and apples with pierogi.

The cabbage warming up

This is one of my simplest dinners and a go-to in both warm and cool weather.

Ring the dinner bell! It's time to eat!

We are on a roll!

Second night in a row we've had some sort of sandwich.  As I'm sure you have figured out, the mister and I are not vegetarian.  That said, we limit our meat and purchases to the Farmer's Market.  We want to know the conditions in which the animals were raised. So, we talk to our farmers. Some farmers readily volunteer this as part of their marketing.  Products raised humanely on small farms can cost more, but since meat is such a small percentage of our diet, it doesn't break our bank.  I realize this choice is not for everyone, but it is what works for us.

Mango Tango ready to be warmed up!

We have an excellent pork farmer at the Farmer's Market - Country Time Farm.  Her farm is in Berks County, in a town called Hamburg (am I the only one that sees the irony in that?).  She and her husband pride themselves on their antibiotic-free, humanely raised pork.  She sells everything from bacon (the best!), pork roll, hot dogs, racks of ribs and loins.  There is always a line at her table and many items (like the bacon) will sell out early.  I am neurotic and always need at least ONE package of Country Time's bacon in the refrigerator and one waiting in the freezer. 'Cause everything is better with bacon!!

One of our more rare purchases from Country Time--but tasty, nonetheless--is their Mango Tango Pulled Pork. The pulled pork is cooked in their special Mango Tango BBQ sauce. This BBQ sauce is slightly sweet, with a touch of heat, very little smoke flavor and has small pieces of mango throughout. It is a real treat to have this for dinner.

On a Roll with Mango Tango and Beet Salad

Along with the Mango Tango, I created my favorite beet dish. I shredded some cooked beets over the weekend.  I added toasted walnuts, some goat cheese and parsley I got from my containers. The dressing is the key to this dish. It has olive oil, rice wine vinegar, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and...honey!  I get my honey from beekeepers that are about 5 miles from our house and they sell at the market, too! So flavorful. This beet salad compliments almost any meal.

We finished off our dinner with another Insalata Caprese (see yesterday's post).  Summer food is so great! 

Insalata Caprese with Red and Yellow Tomatoes

Breakfast for dinner? Yes, please!

Fried egg and goat cheese sandwich., a photo by Local Food Lady on Flickr.

Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? And I'm not talking about a bowl of cereal. There's a reason why diners sell breakfast 24 hours a day--eggs and bacon are tasty at ANY time!

The mister and I went for a run last night on a shaded trail near our house. We tried to go a little bit later than we usually do so as to let the temperature go down at least a degree or two. As you can imagine, the high heat and humidity left us drenched after our run. Between watering the flower/herb containers outside and showering up, I didn't get a chance to start cooking until after 8:00 pm. Yeah, I know. That's way too late to start cooking.

Omelet time!

Our eggs come from our CSA with Jack's Farm. The first time I cracked a farm-raised egg from Jack's, I couldn't believe how bright the yolk is. Real foods contain gorgeous colors. Scrambled, fried, poached, over easy...it's delicious any way you prepare these eggs.

I made the mister a sandwich with two eggs over medium with goat cheese and two slices of bacon. (Take note readers, I like to use bacon in many recipes. Say it with me, "bacon makes everything better!") The mister dresses up his sandwich with ketchup and/or Tiger Sauce.

Since there were four slices of bread in the toaster, I was planning on a sandwich for dinner, too. I like to scramble two egg whites with one whole egg. Takes out some of the fat and the dog gets the benefit of scrambled egg yolks. Before I scrambled the eggs, I heated up a selection of CSA cherry tomatoes in the pan with some garlic. Once cooked, I put them to the side and poured the eggs in. Then came trouble...

Scrambled yolks for the dog. She loves 'em.

I realized there was too much in the pan to fit on a sandwich. You know what that means? Omelet time!!! I cooked the eggs to my desired consistency, returned the cherry tomatoes to the pan and added goat cheese.

I decided to put that bacon on the side of my omelet and enjoyed the toast with some apple butter from North Star Orchard. You gotta try this apple butter.

Even the dog enjoyed some local food action tonight. When I was done cooking my eggs, I threw her yolks into the pan and cooked them up. She scarfed those down and was hoping (aka: begging) for more!

A Summer Staple: The BLT, but with a twist!

Frequent Summer Dinner, a photo by Local Food Lady on Flickr.

This time of year, we have an abundance. An abundance of heat, humidity, and haze. Along with this weather, we have a bounty of two of my favorites: zucchini and tomatoes!! Most of our veggies come from our summer CSA with Jack's Farm. I supplement with weekly purchases at the Farmer's Market.

These two summer crops are the main ingredients of one of my favorite summer dinners that requires limited use of the stove. This is ideal on 100° days.

BLTs remind me of growing up. I'd be at the pool all day and my mom would make these for dinner. They were fast, portable, and I could assemble them myself. My own version of this summer staple is the BBT - Bacon, Basil and Tomato on toast.

Other than the bread and the condiments, this dinner is made with local ingredients. This recipe covers enough for the mister and me.

Ingredients:

• Two small to mid-sized zucchini
• Garlic
• Basil
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Cut and quarter the zucchini. Put in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 5-10 minutes while you chop your garlic and wash/chop your basil. Bring your pan to a low/med heat. Add Olive Oil and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes. Shake the excess water from the zucchini and add to pan. Cook slowly, being careful not to overcook (mushy). Add basil about 2 minutes after zucchini. Move all items around pan carefully. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, checking consistency.

BBT ingredients:

• 4 slices of whole grain bread
• 6 slices of bacon (our favorite bacon comes from Countrytime Farm in Hamburg, PA)
• 1 large tomato sliced
• Bunch of basil leaves
• Condiments (mayo, salt and pepper)

I like my bread toasted for the crunch and will add just a minimal amount of mayo to the bread. I layer the sandwich with 3 slices of bacon, the tomatoes and then the basil on top. I always add my salt and pepper to the tomatoes. Stack the slice of bread on top and enjoy. I sometimes forget how filling this sandwich can be!

For a different taste on the BBT, substitute a thin slice of mozzarella for the mayo.

I hope you add these to your summer staples.