I'm joining Nancy at Little Homestead in Boise for the Dark Days Challenge.
What’s the Challenge?The dates are between December 1 and April 15th. The goal is to try to cook four meals each month (1 per week) focused on sustainable, organic, and local ingredients (SOL). Whatever you can find is fine!
What does local mean?
Traditionally local food challenges call for a 100 mile radius, but winter is more difficult in many climates. If you’re new to eating locally try 150 miles. Typical exceptions are oils, coffee, chocolate and spices. If you’re making fewer, or more exceptions, please note that on your first post or comment.
What if I can’t find every ingredient locally?
If you can’t find every ingredient, or even most ingredients, please still write about your attempts. This is just as much about what we learn, the obstacles we find and the decisions we make as it is about cooking with SOL ingredients. Do what you can, where you can.
What if I don’t have good photos?
Take photos of what you’ve got, just do your best. No worries, keep it simple, or just tell the story and we’ll use our imaginations.
I'm glad good photos aren't a requirement because this certainly isn't one of my best! ;)
The beef and noodles included local grass-fed beef. The green beans were from my girlfriend's garden. The chopped Winter Salad included lettuce and red cabbage from the same friend's garden, carrots from the neighbors' garden, local organic apples from the Farmer's Market and my Fromage Blanc goat cheese. The yummy Lemon Vinaigrette dressing included locally grown shallots picked up at the Farmer's Market. Not everything was local or organic but I felt pretty proud serving it up!
I hope some of you think about joining Nancy and the rest of us as we try to live up to this challenge! Check out Nancy's blog for more info. :)
Linking up with Farmgirl Friday at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House.
What’s the Challenge?The dates are between December 1 and April 15th. The goal is to try to cook four meals each month (1 per week) focused on sustainable, organic, and local ingredients (SOL). Whatever you can find is fine!
What does local mean?
Traditionally local food challenges call for a 100 mile radius, but winter is more difficult in many climates. If you’re new to eating locally try 150 miles. Typical exceptions are oils, coffee, chocolate and spices. If you’re making fewer, or more exceptions, please note that on your first post or comment.
What if I can’t find every ingredient locally?
If you can’t find every ingredient, or even most ingredients, please still write about your attempts. This is just as much about what we learn, the obstacles we find and the decisions we make as it is about cooking with SOL ingredients. Do what you can, where you can.
What if I don’t have good photos?
Take photos of what you’ve got, just do your best. No worries, keep it simple, or just tell the story and we’ll use our imaginations.
I'm glad good photos aren't a requirement because this certainly isn't one of my best! ;)
The beef and noodles included local grass-fed beef. The green beans were from my girlfriend's garden. The chopped Winter Salad included lettuce and red cabbage from the same friend's garden, carrots from the neighbors' garden, local organic apples from the Farmer's Market and my Fromage Blanc goat cheese. The yummy Lemon Vinaigrette dressing included locally grown shallots picked up at the Farmer's Market. Not everything was local or organic but I felt pretty proud serving it up!
I hope some of you think about joining Nancy and the rest of us as we try to live up to this challenge! Check out Nancy's blog for more info. :)
Linking up with Farmgirl Friday at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House.
Kind of a cool idea! I'll look into it and see what I can come up with!
ReplyDeletethe green beans look yummy!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are making my brain hurt, Candy. But I do love green beans. :)
ReplyDeleteI admire how you can do so many wonderful things Candy. I have highlighted you again on this week's Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop
ReplyDeletehttp://hibiscushouse1.blogspot.com/2012/12/farmgirl-friday-blog-hop-86.html
I will be following this closely, we dont have much local foods where we live. Well not unless you want to eat Beef or Lamb for every meal.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Candy, I know you will do good.
SHaun
My food choices would definitely not fit here! ;-) It will be interesting to see just what happens, though!
ReplyDeleteWay to go! It really is hard to eat local this time of year. Nothing grows here in the winter.
ReplyDeletethis will be interesting to follow! the food looks yummy, especially those green beans...great photo of it too! i take horrible food pictures, it really is challenging isn't it?!
ReplyDeleteWell this certainly is making me hungry. B
ReplyDeleteI think the spices and oils might be a problem more than other items for me since we already have so much dehydrated, canned or frozen. We have lard but I don't want everything to taste piggy.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! Don't suppose you'd publish the recipe for that salad would you? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding my D.D.C. info! Looks good, and LOVE the colors! Feel free to grab my DDC button :) Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteNever mind, you already did )
ReplyDeleteMarigold,
ReplyDeleteI will get that recipe up on Sunday. It was really, really yummy, especially the Lemon Vinaigrette! :)
I think we pretty much try to do that now, but your dish of food looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely raising chickens for meat again next year. We didn't this year, and I regret it already.
My succotash I made was with organic chicken, green beans and corn from our summer garden. I didn't have sweet potatoes left, but I hope to put up more of them next year.
Mmmm.....I'm coming to live with YOU!
ReplyDeleteThat top dish looks fabulous!
Have a creative rest of the weekend!
Also, thanks for your supportive comment on my blog......it's nice to feel a connection to our deeo rooted feelings.....
Merry, merry!
Mimi
The Goat Borrower
Nice challenge
ReplyDeleteAwesome! This is a really great challenge. Those green beans look delicious :)
ReplyDeleteReally like this idea! Not sure that I have the discipline to blog about it though. We do try to eat as much home grown and local as possible.Your meal looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing my Christmas canning...apple butter, the carrot cake conserve you shared the recipe for, and I already had the cherry topping I canned during the summer....now to the baking: gingerbread loaves, and cowboy cookies (and once again--thanks to you!) :-) A few special people on my list who live far away and I won't see will be getting baskets of these goodies for Christmas! I used organic fruits and veggies for them....I will do a post! :-) Your fresh food looks so yummy I am now very hungry even though we had breakfast less than a hour ago! :-) This in an interesting challenge!
ReplyDelete