Eat Local Challenge: Day 14

June 14, 2012

Breakfast:
Fresh peach juice!  Each cup contained juice from 3 local peaches.  It was really tasty and had the consistency of a smoothie.

Lunch:
Leftover black bean burgers and homemade wheat buns with arugula and red onion from Day 12.

Dinner:
Off-the-wagon meal at Fox and the Hound in Elmwood Mall.  Spinach and artichoke dip with basil and mushroom pizza.


Non-local Foods for the Week: donuts, bagels, popcorn, white wine, orange juice, cupuacu juice
Off the Wagon Meals Remaining: -1

Eat Local Challenge: Day 13

June 13, 2012

Breakfast:
Nothing.

Lunch:
Leftover red beans and rice from Day 11.

Dinner:
Eat Local Dish from Cafe Carmo: Pecan-smoked, Des-Allemands Creole catfish served over Haitian “Pickles” and a slaw served with crispy lavash and spicy sweet corn mirliton relish.  I also washed it down with cupuacu juice since I was already way off the wagon with my non-local foods for the week.  The cupuacu had an interesting flavor.  Kind of fruity, but also had a cocoa, chocolate-like hint to it.

The dish was pretty good, though Jason and I concluded that our meals were a tad overpriced for the portion sizes.



Non-local Foods for the Week: donuts, bagels, popcorn, white wine, orange juice, cupuacu juice
Off the Wagon Meals Remaining: 0

Eat Local Challenge: Day 12

June 12, 2012

Breakfast:
Null.

Lunch:
Leftover mashed potatoes, cucumber salad, and corn on the cob from Day 9.

Dinner:
Black bean burgers on top of homemade whole wheat hamburger buns.  I used Camellia brand black beans and local onion, salt, and basil.  The bread crumbs, black pepper, and oregano were already in my pantry, and I forgot to add the garlic powder.  As for the hamburger buns, the sugar, salt, and whole wheat flour were local, but everything else was from my pantry.

Except, I lied.  Jason and I literally have been going on an egg hunt the last week: Crescent City Farmers Market on Thursday, Hollygrove Market on Saturday, and Hollygrove Market today.  All three times they were out, so I said screw it.  We made a considerable enough effort to find local eggs.  Jason bought local beef at Hollygrove today to make up for it.

 Getting ready to go into the oven!

The one totally awesome thing about this bun recipe (besides the fact that it received the Jason stamp of approval) is that it doesn't require twelve billion hours to rise before throwing in the oven.  The recipe called for 10 minutes, though I probably let is rest for closer to 20-30 while waiting for the beans to cook.

Twelve minutes later, they're nice and risen!

I also dressed the black bean burgers with some local arugula and red onion.  The burger as a whole was a tad dry since I didn't take the time to come up with a local sauce or spread (maybe an arugula pesto next time?).  Since I was already off the wagon with respect to my non-local food allowances, I decided to wash it down with some orange juice.

The final arrangement, topped off with the arugula and red onion

Non-local Foods for the Week: donuts, bagels, popcorn, white wine, orange juice
Off the Wagon Meals Remaining: 0

Eat Local Challenge: Day 11

June 11, 2012

Breakfast:
Two donuts from Blue Dot Donuts.  Definitely not local, but they're super yummy!

Lunch:
Another donut.  I went up to a gathering in the Northshore today, and the group had tacos for lunch.  Since I don't have any off the wagon meals left, I opted to skip out.

Dinner:
I decided to honor the New Orleans tradition of Monday red beans and (brown) rice, though I didn't do my laundry while making them since I did that yesterday.  I used Camellia beans and local onion and green pepper along with some not-so-local bay leaves. I haven't figured out if Tony Cacherie's is technically local, but I'll live in denial thinking that it is if it turns out not to be the case.

Non-local Foods for the Week: donuts, bagels, popcorn, white wine
Off the Wagon Meals Remaining: 0

Eat Local Challenge: Day 10

June 10, 2012

Brunch:
Made some local grits with local onion and not-so-local cheddar cheese that I needed to get rid of.  Plus, wheat chapati using the same recipe as Day 8 + blueberry sauce -- with local wheat flour and local blueberries, of course!

Snack:
Jason and I went to see Prometheus, and I ended up getting popcorn, which wouldn't be so bad, but I already used up my 3 non-local foods for the week.  Totally didn't realize it until after the fact.  This challenge reminds me of Lent in a lot of ways.

Dinner:
A good friend of mine came over for dinner, and I made cucumber and red onion salad with fresh mint and sweet basil with mashed red potatoes and not-so-local buttermilk that I've been trying to get rid of and corn on the cob with not-so-local butter.  I accidentally had some non-local white win with dinner -- another oops.

Non-local Foods for the Week: donuts, bagels, popcorn, white wine
Off the Wagon Meals Remaining: 0

--

The cheese, buttermilk, and butter should be added (if not already on it) to the list of exempt non-local foods since I had them in my fridge before I started the challenge.

Eat Local Challenge: Day 9

June 9, 2012

Breakfast:
Leftover piece of wheat chapati and ginger-pear butter.

Lunch:
Nil.  Saved my appetite for a wedding reception later on.

Dinner:
Jason and I went to a wedding, so I ended up using an Off the Wagon meal at the reception.  However, it was catered by Cafe Hope, another awesome organization that trains youth for the food service and hospitality industry.  I ate tossed salad, red beans and rice, roasted veggies, pumpernickel roll, shrimp pasta, fruit, and of course, cake!

Non-local Foods for the Week: donuts, bagels
Off the Wagon Meals Remaining: 0

Eat Local Challenge: Day 8

June 8, 2012

I survived Week 1 without making too many concessions!  Let's see how Week 2 goes...

Breakfast:
Donuts and bagels.  I went to the New Orleans Urban Congress "Right to the City" Day of Action and succumbed to the temptation of breakfast offerings.

Lunch:
They also served lunch of salad, white beans and shrimp, red beans and rice, and jamabalaya.  Although they're local dishes, I doubt the ingredients were all local.

Dinner:
It was a long day at work and I didn't get home until 8:30 pm.  I ate a local plum and made chapati using the wheat flour from Carencro, LA that was for sale at the ELC kick-off party.  Topped it off ginger and pear butter from White Wood Farms in Mandeville, LA.

Non-local Foods for the Week: donuts, bagels
Off the Wagon Meals Remaining: 1