Summertime.... and the living is easy

June has been a quiet month for us. It started off with my niece's wedding (sort of -- she's been married for a year already and so the wedding ceremony was completely superfluous, but it was fun anyway) and has kind of meandered along. I turned 44 on June 3 and it wasn't a great birthday, but I knew that going in. Every seven years since I was 16 I've had bad birthdays, and this year was it. I spent the day at home on the computer, which was fun, but what made it suck was that 1) I got my period, and 2) I had to have the car repaired to the tune of $362. On the plus side, I'm good now until I turn 51.

Despite a bang-up start to the month, we haven't done much. We've gone swimming in the lake. We've gone to see a lot of movies. We've had several barbecues. Other than that... not much.

The summer movies have been a mixed bag this year. Iron Man was awesome, as expected. It's my second favorite comic book movie ever, taking X-Men 2's spot (but not ousting Spider-Man 2 as the best comic book movie ever). Konkles of Nonya was great, thanks to acting powerhouse Peter Dinklage and a sexy hott Caspian. Speed Racer was dumb and flashy. Indiana Jones made me want to commit ritual seppuku because of the insanely stupid and unnecessary relationship with Karen Allen and the cutesy family angle. We've also seen The Happening, which has turned out to be the worst movie so far -- so bad it's good. Marky Mark has used up a huge chunk of Boogie Nights goodwill by not only being in this turdfest but also by his hilariously bad acting (to be fair, he didn't have much to work with -- the dialog was laughable). We also saw Wanted, and that was okay. Kinda dumb. Next up is Hancock and then Hellboy.

I sort of decided not to do One Local Summer this year. I had a lot of fun with it last year, but since I'm only home on the weekends I'm limited to only two nights in which to produce a local dinner. To tell you the truth, I've been feeling extraordinarily lazy (even lazier than usual) and half of the time I've been like, "Oh, let's just Five Guys it up tonight." So, unless Five Guys counts as local food, I'm afraid I have to bail on OLS this year.

This weekend is July 4th, so expect a forthcoming post in which we have an Americue, shoot off fireworks, and laugh at Fat Ringo.

One Local Summer, Meal 9

This meal was kind of thrown together, and we forgot to take a picture so this is a recycled shot. The fact that we were able to put a local meal together on the fly, though, is a testament to how we're eating more local foods in general. I don't think we could have come up with something quick before we joined One Local Summer. Also, I think this may be the last official meal of One Local Summer -- it's been a lot of fun!

Our meal this week was bacon, eggs & pancakes.



Bacon - Meadow Run Farm, Lititz (12 miles)

Eggs - Meadow Run Farm, Lititz (12 miles)

Blueberry Pancakes - Whole Wheat Flour from Daisy Flour, Annville (16 miles); Egg from Meadow Run Farm, Lititz; Milk from Kreider Dairies, Manheim (2 miles); Blueberries from NJ (more than 100 miles)

Maple Syrup - Brennemans, Salisbury (188 miles - not within the 100 mile limit, but the closest-produced maple syrup I could find)

One Local Summer, Meal 8

Our local meal this week was cheeseburgers on the grill! Yay!



Hamburger - Meadow Run Farm, Lititz (12 miles)

Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns - S. Clyde Weaver, East Petersburg (5 miles)

Cheese - Guernsey's Gift, East Petersburg (5 miles)

Corn on the Cob - Farm stand, Lititz (5 miles)

Roasted Potatoes w/ Grape Tomatoes - Farm stand, Lititz (5 miles)

Basil - My yard

Milk - Kreider's Dairies, Manheim (2 miles)

One Local Summer, Meal 7

We had a pretty simple meal of just sandwiches this week. I have a confession to make. If you haven't already been able to tell, I really don't like vegetables, especially raw ones. They are always the last to be put on my plate and I can only stand them in limited quantities (except for lima beans, I could eat a truckload of those). The kids are worse than I am (except Amy loves lima beans as much as I do). Onil will eat more vegetables than me, but really, for us, it's all about the meat and starch (rice/bread/pasta/potatoes). I ate a piece of fresh raw tomato last week and nearly gagged on it. We will eat fresh fruit, though, so we've got that going for us.

Anyway, this week we just had Monte Christo sandwiches, and they were very yummy!



Ham - Kunzler Meats, Lancaster (10 miles)

Turkey - Sensenig Poultry, Lititz (7 miles)

Cheese - Guernsey's Gift, East Petersburg (5 miles)

Whole Wheat Potato Bread - Martins Bread, Chambersburg (86 miles)

Eggs - Meadow Run Farm, Lititz (12 miles)

Milk - Kreider Dairies, Manheim (2 miles)

Maple Syrup - Brennemans, Salisbury (188 miles - not within the 100 mile limit, but the closest-produced maple syrup I could find)

Potato Chips - Kay & Ray's, Chambersburg (86 miles)


~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~.*.~


I've gotten several requests for the cantaloupe juice recipe, and one for the Filipino adobo from last week. I haven't taken pictures of the preparation process for either but I'll try to describe them. If you have any questions, just ask! :o)

Cantaloupe Juice
Ingredients:

1 Cantaloupe
2 tbsp. Sugar, Brown Sugar or Honey (we like honey the best)
Water
Ice

Cut cantaloupe in quarters and remove seeds. Scrape out the inside flesh with this tool (Onil says a fork works well, too). Do this all in a bowl to catch the juices. Put the the scrapings and the juice in a pitcher and add the sweetener; stir to dissolve. Top off with ice and water and stir. Refrigerate and serve cold with juice and scrapings (you may want to include a spoon or a wide straw).

The link for Market Manila also suggests adding a little lemon juice or fresh mint to your cantaloupe juice. I'm not so sure about the lemon juice, but the fresh mint sounds like a great addition and something we're going to have to try in the future. If you're not going to serve it to kids, a little white wine also might be interesting.


Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo
Ingredients:

Bone-in Chicken parts (I use 2 breasts & 2 thighs, and I remove the skin)
1 small Onion, sliced
8 cloves Garlic, chopped
3/4 c. low-sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 c. Cider Vinegar
1/2 c. Water
2 tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 tbsp. Peppercorns
1 Bay Leaf

Spray inside of slow cooker with nonstick spray and layer chicken pieces in slow cooker. Top with onion and garlic. Mix together soy sauce, vinegar, water and brown sugar until sugar dissolves; pour into slow cooker. Add peppercorns and bay leaf. Cook on high for one hour and turn down to low for five or six hours. Serve with rice.

One Local Summer, Meal 6

We wanted to do some Filipino food for one of our local summer meals, just for something different. This is adobo, the unofficial national dish of the Philippines. Every family in the Philippines has an adobo recipe with some variations, but the basics are always the same. The meat is usually pork or chicken, but I've also seen it with goat. It's made with soy sauce and vinegar, and you would think that would make it sour, which it does, but it mellows out a lot while cooking. Add to that garlic, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns, and a spoonful of brown sugar to cut the sourness, and you've got one good dish. We all love it, including the kids. I even made it when my dad was over once, and he loved it, too.

I made this in the crockpot this past weekend. We ate it with rice and drank more cantaloupe juice, a Filipino drink. I got a request for the recipe and procedure to make cantaloupe juice, but I don't have pictures of that with me today so I'll post that in my next local meal post.

Most of the ingredients in this dish aren't local, but that's fine with me. I'm not going to eliminate dishes from our meal rotation because we don't grow rice or black pepper or harvest salt in Lancaster county. I like finding ways of making our usual meals from as many local ingredients as I can and will continue to do that, even after this summer is over. If I have a choice between buying something produced locally and something produced from further away, I'll buy the local product. It's really changed the way we eat and the way we look at our food.





Chicken - Sensenig Poultry, Lititz (7 miles)

Onion - Nolts Produce, Manheim (2 miles)

Garlic - Hilltop Grocery, Manheim (2 miles)

Cantaloupe - Nolts Produce, Manheim (2 miles)

Non-local ingredients - Cider vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, bay leaf, peppercorns, jasmine rice

One Local Summer, Meal 5

Our local meal this week was maybe one of the best we've had so far, and I sincerely mean that in spite of the fact that I say this every week. We ate out on our new picnic table in the yard, which was great except for the annoying little gnats all over the place. Onil, Amy and I dealt with it, but the Littlest Lord of All was so completely grossed out that she didn't finish all of her corn and went stomping in the house while the rest of us finished up. She is definitely a teen-ager, and truly the Little Lord.

When Onil and I bought our Daisy flour a couple of weeks ago (and how many times have I typed "Daisy flower" and had to correct it? Oh, like a billion) we noticed a bag of cornmeal on the shelf next to it. We bought it because:

1) We like cornbread,
2) It's produced by Haldeman Mills in Manheim, and
3) The packaging totally cracked us up.

Take a look:



I mean, really. Who wouldn't want to buy a product with a picture of their granddad on the front?





BBQ Chicken - Chicken breasts and legs, Pennfield Farms, Lancaster (8 miles) by way of Sensenig Poultry, Lititz (7 miles). Believe it or not, this was the first time I made bone-in chicken on the grill because I am deathly afraid of undercooking chicken. This time I decided to be brave and give it a try. It turned out great. Rubbed with dry herbs and spices (probably none of it local but mixed up by me) and slathered with my homemade BBQ sauce.

Turkey Apple Sausage - Sensenig Poultry, Lititz (7 miles). This is the reappearance of the turkey apple sausage we had on July 4th. You will probably see this again as it is only $2.99 a pound and outrageously delicious.

Corn on the Cob - Nolt's farm stand, Manheim (2 miles).

Quick Pickled Cucumbers - Produce from Millersville (13 miles) by way of Eastern Farmer's Market, Lancaster city.

Cornbread - Cornmeal from Haldeman Mills, Manheim (7 miles), wheat flour from Daisy Flour, Annville (16 miles), egg from Meadow Run Farm, Lititz (12 miles), milk from Kreider Dairies, Manheim (2 miles), honey from Stockins Apiary, Strasburg (21 miles). I was thinking it was going to be like the Jiffy cornbread mix, but it was a little heavier than I'm used to. Maybe because of the wheat flour? It was delicious anyway.

Cantaloupe Juice - Nolt's farm stand, Manheim (2 miles), honey from Stockins Apiary, Strasburg (21 miles) by way of Eastern Farmer's Market, Lancaster city. This is a Filipino specialty. Using this tool...



... Onil scraped out a cantaloupe to make strings. He then mixed the juice, the strings and a few spoonfuls of honey in a pitcher, then filled to the top with ice water and mixed well. Perfect for a summer day.

Finally, dessert!



We stopped off at Central Market in Lancaster city as well and picked up a couple of individual cherry cheesecakes. I'm not sure if the ingredients were local and I don't remember exactly where they were made, but it was definitely Lancaster county. I also got a springerle cookie at Central Market. It was made by The Springerle House in Strasburg (21 miles) and I just couldn't resist. Look at the detail on this cookie:



Just exquisite, and so yummy. All washed down with a glass of Kreider milk, Manheim (2 miles).

One Local Summer, Meal 4

I am totally stealing from Meredith at Edge Effect again this week and having breakfast for Meal #4. Onil and I had been talking about doing a breakfast meal last week and Meredith's yummy breakfast from last week inspired me to actually do it.

Also, we had a special guest this weekend: the illustrious Captain John Sniff!



Captain John Sniff (aka Cappy, Johnny, Cap'n John, Rotten Boy) is my dog but is staying with Amy and Anna at their dad's house for a while because we're not allowed to have pets at our apartment (the landlord doesn't know about Kitty or Nutmeg). Amy and Anna were with their dad and stepmom at Knoebel's this weekend, so rather than see Cappy go to a kennel I said we'd take him. He was very well-behaved and my best friend all weekend. I'd like to take him for the weekend more often.

Anyway, our local meal. We had bacon and eggs with blueberry pancakes:





Bacon - Meadow Run Farm, Lititz (12 miles)

Eggs - Meadow Run Farm, Lititz (12 miles). This was the first time since I was a little kid that I had fresh eggs. I mean, just-laid-that-morning fresh eggs. Oh my heck, Onil and I were blown away by how good they tasted! You people with your own chickens and a steady supply of fresh eggs are so lucky! We made scrambled eggs with Kreider's milk in Manheim (2 miles).

Blueberry Pancakes - Whole Wheat Flour from Daisy Flour, Annville (16 miles), Milk from Kreider Dairies, Manheim (2 miles), Egg from Meadow Run Farm, Lititz (12 miles), blueberries from NJ (not local).

Blueberry Syrup - Masonic Homes Orchards, Elizabethtown (15 miles). I melted down Wild Blueberry jam and added some water to thin it out and a little bit of lemon zest for flavor.

Milk - Kreider Dairies, Manheim (2 miles)

One thing I have to add that has been amusing in this whole eating locally thing, is how old-fashioned it all tends to be. For example, I read about Meadow Run and decided to check out their farm market, because there are vegetable stands everywhere in Lancaster county but you have to really suss out your meats. Well.... calling it a "farm market" is being very generous. It amounted to a small shed with two freezers for meats and a refrigerator for eggs. You take your meat and eggs (which are marked with the price), write down on a steno pad what you're taking, how much it weighs and how much it costs, and put your money in an open cash box. I can't tell you how much I love that we're supporting this kind of economy, where honesty is given a chance and the cash goes to the farmer and not to a corporation. And damn if the food doesn't taste a billion times better, too.

One Local Summer, Meal 3

I made our local meal early this week because it's back to NYC for me until Friday afternoon. This week's meal consists of pork ribs in the crockpot with rice, broccoli and green tea with mint.



Ribs - Leidy's in Souderton (91 miles). Cooked in the crockpot with my homemade barbecue sauce.

Rice - Thailand (so not local!)

Broccoli - Manheim (2 miles)

Green tea with mint - Green tea bags from Trader Joe's, mint from Schaefferstown (17 miles)

One Local Summer, Meal 2: Independence Day Edition

I made our Fourth of July cookout our second local summer meal, and this one turned out really great! Onil and I went to Roots farmer's market on Tuesday and picked up a bunch of stuff, but I also found a few meat producers there with their own stores. That way, I can pick up locally-produced meat at their stores without having to take a day off from work to go to Roots. I had originally intended to use just Lancaster county products, but I'm making it easier on myself and extending my range to within 100 miles. I'm also going to steal from my friend Meresy_G at Edge Effect and include the range in miles for each item.



Pork Chops - Hatfield (89 miles). Rubbed with a dry rub of herbs and spices and grilled. Basted with a mixture of brown sugar and vinegar while grilling.

Turkey Apple Sausage - Lititz (7 miles). Grilled. This was really delicious. I don't like sausage but I had a taste of this and I loved it. We're going to have the leftover sausage tonight for dinner.

Potatoes with Sugar Snap Peas and Basil - Potatoes from Bird In Hand (23 miles), Peas from the Masonic Home farm market in Elizabethtown (15 miles), and Basil from Schaefferstown (17 miles). Potatoes were cubed and boiled until tender and the peas were thrown in the last few minutes until tender, then drained and mixed with olive oil, salt & pepper and chopped fresh basil. Then I put it all in a foil packet and cooked it on the grill while the meat cooked.

Corn - Manheim, Nolt's farm stand (2 miles down the road). Boiled until tender, grilled for five minutes.

Homemade Root Beer - Strasburg (26 miles). Onil kept calling it Rutts beer.

Strawberry Smoothies for dessert - Strawberries from a u-pick farm in Lititz (7 miles) and milk from Kreider dairies in Manheim (2 miles). Strawberries are frozen and blended with fat-free milk. Onil also had an apple dumpling that he bought at Roots, but was made here in Manheim.

One Local Summer: Meal 1

Okay, so I'm participating in an online group called One Local Summer. You make at least one meal a week from local ingredients and post the results on your blog. Since we live in farm country, it's not too hard to eat locally, and it's something I've wanted to do more of. I like the idea of supporting my local farm stands and grocers.

Our first meal was as local as I could make it, but it certainly wasn't organic. We had burgers from the Masonic Home farmer's market (Elizabethtown) on Martin's potato rolls and chips, both from Chambersburg. We also bought lettuce at the Masonic Home farmer's market for the salad (no local salad dressing, we didn't get that in time). Other things that we had that weren't entirely local was Hatfield sausage (Hatfield PA), A Treat root beer (from Allentown), and corn on the cob from Delaware. I kind of got all of this together on short notice -- hopefully I'll be able to do better next week.