Eat Local Challenge: Day 20

June 20, 2012

Breakfast:
Nada.

Lunch:
Leftover couscous salad and red cabbage.

Dinner:
We had homemade pizza, with the wheat dough and pizza sauce both made from scratch.  It was quite a process (well, compared to popping a frozen pizza in the oven), so this post obviously warrants a photo series.

I followed this recipe for the pizza crust, using the whole wheat flour from Carenco, LA and local salt and sugar.  The olive oil, yeast and white flour weren't local.  While the dough was resting I started the tomato sauce, which was pretty simple.  I blanched about 2 pounds of local heirloom tomatoes in order to peel them, and while they were boiling I chopped up the herbs.

Local basil, rosemary, and garlic

After peeling the tomatoes and giving them a rough chop, I tossed them in a saucepan with some olive oil and brought the liquid to a boil.  I added the herbs and local salt and not-local pepper, and let the liquid boil off so the sauce would thicken.

Tomato sauce simmering on the stove!

It took Jason and me a while to figure out how to shape and stretch the dough, but we finally figured it out.  I forgot to take photos of him tossing the dough in the air. =(  He was a lot better at it than I was.

Then we spread out the sauce; the amount was *perfect* for the size of the pizza.

Starting the pizza assembly process...

We topped it off with shredded Asiago cheese from Rocking R Dairy in Tylertown, MS, local onion, green pepper, fairy tale eggplant, and ground beef for Jason's side.

The pie right before going into the oven...

...and after!

To go with the pizza, we had a salad with local mixed greens, arugula, blueberries, cucumbers, and some of the leftover Asiago cheese.  I made a simple balsamic vinaigrette to go with it.

Veggie pizza slices + Salad

YUM!  This meal also received the Jason seal of approval!


Non-local foods for the week: Rotel, pizza dough, couscous, apple
Off the Wagon Meals Left: 0

Eat Local Challenge: Day 19

June 19, 2012

Breakfast:
Nada.

Lunch:
Leftover red beans and rice from last week.

Dinner:
I made a cucumber salad with local cucumbers, red onion, salt, and sugar and not-so-local vinegar and black pepper.  We also had a black bean couscous salad with Camellia brand black beans, local green pepper, yellow onion, and salt with not-so-local couscous, crushed cumin, olive oil, and vinegar.  Finally, we had a red cabbage dish with local red cabbage and salt with not-so-local vinegar, black pepper, and Braeburn apple.

I've come to the conclusion that it's really hard for me to make dishes that are 100% local, but I can get pretty close!  The vinegar in my pantry is getting pretty low, so soon it'll be time to get some Steen's Cane Vinegar!

Non-local foods for the week: Rotel, pizza dough, couscous, apple
Off the Wagon Meals Left: 0

Eat Local Challenge: Day 18

June 18, 2012

Breakfast:
Nada.

Lunch:
Leftover Moros y Cristianos and roasted vegetables from Day 19.

Dinner:
Jason and I went to Ancora Pizzeria and Salumeria for dinner, and it was really good!  We started off with roasted zucchini and yellow squash with garlic and stuffed peppers with ricotta and anchovies.  The flash on my phone's camera completely washed out the photo, so it doesn't do the meal justice at all, but it was delicious nonetheless!

I got the Eat Local dish, which was a panzanella salad with Creole tomatoes, locally grown cucumbers, and house made bread.  I ate a little bit of Jason's Bianca pizza, only because I was still hungry and the waiter said everything was local except for the dough.

Then afterward we got dessert at La Divina Gelateria and I got the blueberry basil gelato -- yummy!

Non-local foods for the week: Rotel, pizza dough
Off the Wagon Meals Left: 0

Eat Local Challenge: Day 16

June 16, 2012

Breakfast:
Nothing!

Lunch:
Off-the-wagon meal: spinach and artichoke dip and chips with a portobello sandwich at Caesar salad Abita Brew Pub.  Jason, my friend, Emily, and I spent the day at the Louisiana Bike Festival in Abita Springs!

Dinner:
Made a dish with local eggplant, tomato, and onion.  Used local salt and not-so-local crushed cumin, coriander, and black pepper.

Non-local foods for the week: TBD
Off the Wagon Meals Left: 0

Eat Local Challenge: Day 17

June 17, 2012

Breakfast:
Off-the-wagon meal of roasted garlic and spinach quiche and blueberry ginger muffin at Satsuma Cafe.  I met up with some friends for breakfast and when we got there the power was out so we couldn't order any of their other dishes.

Lunch:
None.  Though I decided to bake some wheat rolls using the same recipe as I used for hamburger buns for Day 12.  I just divided the dough into 16 parts instead of 8 and it worked well.  I ate mine with ginger pear butter from White Wood Farms, while Jason spread some butter on his.

Wheat rolls minus two that Jason snagged before I could take a picture

Dinner:
Roasted local potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers with local rosemary and raw cane sugar and not-so-local balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  I tossed the veggies together with the rosemary, salt, black pepper, and olive oil.  Then roasted the potatoes in the oven for a half-hour.  Immediately after, I tossed the remaining veggies with balsamic vinegar and a little bit of sugar and let it sit until the potatoes were done.  I added the them to the potatoes and roasted for another 30 minutes.  The eggplant and green pepper really absorbed the balsamic vinegar this way.

We also had an adaptation of Moros y Cristianos using local rice, salt, onion, garlic, and Camellia brand beans that I had cooked on Day 12.  The non-local ingredients were thyme, bay leaves, ground cayenne pepper, and canned Rotel.  Had another wheat roll with apple cider butter from White Wood Farms and washed it down with some Abita Golden Ale.

Yummy!

Non-local foods for the week: Rotel
Off the Wagon Meals Left: 0

Eat Local Challenge: Day 15

June 15, 2012

Breakfast:
Zilch.

Lunch:
Oyster po-boy and crawfish.  Today was my last day at my internship so the office had a nice lunch for us.

Dinner:
None.  The lunch was pretty heavy and the po-boy was rather big, so I wasn't particularly hungry for dinner.


Non-local foods for the week: TBD
Off the Wagon Meals Left: 1

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