Smith's Country Cheeses

Okay, may as well get this out of the way early in the blog: I'm a cheese addict. Yes, it's true. If it's cheese, I'm on board. Everything is better with cheese, and I'm sure you'll see many, many recipes with cheese and cheese reviews from me in the future. I'm hoping to use this blog as an excuse to sample as many local cheeses as I can find! Today I thought I'd share with you one of my favorites: Smith's Country Cheese.

First, they have cheddar...the only local cheddar I can find. The sharp cheddar is so outrageously good. It's a little crumbly: cut a thin slice for a cracker and it may break in half. I love that! Cheddar shouldn't be a waxy mess the consistency of Velveeta! This cheddar is a little dry and so tasty. It's great with fruit or crackers, on nachos or quesadillas, or just eaten alone.

They really seem to be known for their gouda, though. Yesterday we tried a Garlic Gouda spread. Once again, amazing! The boys ate a TON, and for those of you familiar with my boys, having them eat any of anything is something of a miracle. My husband TK and I even got them saying "It's so GOOD-A!" (Yes, I'm not above cheesy jokes!)

Smith's cheeses are relatively easy to find in the Boston area. I usually get them at Roche Bros supermarket (though they don't carry any Smith's cheddar unfortunately, at least at my Roche Bros), Verrill Farm, or now making my summer exceptional, they sell it at the Waltham Fields CSA pick up. How convenient is that? Fresh veggies AND a cheese fix! We also got some at the Waltham Farmer's Market yesterday. Basically, if I see it somewhere, I'm buying it! Check their website for other locations where you can buy their cheese.

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So what are your favorite New England cheeses? As I said, I'm looking to try as many different cheeses as I can!

Introducing myself (What A Card)

I figured before I really get going, I'd do a brief introduction of myself. I live in the suburbs of Boston with my husband and two (soon to be three!) boys.

Why the interest in local foods? Well, for a number of reasons. I think it's better for us, better for the environment, and better for the local farms. Oh yeah, and it generally tastes better to have the freshest ingredients. It's fun and expands our diets beyond the normal stuff you get at the grocery store.

I'm far from "perfect", though. I have budget constraints, and sometimes even more importantly, time constraints. But I do my best and have fun doing it. I'm a big believer in making small changes, and eating locally, at least on a small scale, is part of my small changes. I may not eat 100% local, but I try to make local choices when I can.

So you're not going to get any judgments here. If you only replace one ingredient a week with something local, that's a great start. One of the problems I had when I was first getting started was that I didn't know where to find local ingredients. Another problem was that when I did find local ingredients, they were sometimes things with which I was unfamiliar. Hopefully this blog will help answer some of those questions for those of you just getting started. And I'm excited to learn new things from the other writers here!

If there's anything you're interested in hearing more about, or any questions you have, leave us a comment. Looking forward to getting to know all you readers and writers!

Borsari.....How Do I Love You?

Let me count the ways....

I love you on grilled, roasted and stir fried veggies. I love you in my homemade sauce. I love you in salads. I love to use you as a rub on pork, chicken and beef. (I imagine you would add the perfect touch to fish.)
















This combination of spices is a "must have". If you don't have a jar of Borsari in your spice cabinet (mine never makes it that far, it's on the counter at all times) then run, don't walk to your nearest grocer. It's the ideal spice. Enhancing, without overwhelming, the earthy goodness of all of the locally grown produce and meat you'll be eating.

I'll be honest, I've never ventured from the original flavor - it's kind of a "why mess with perfection" sort of thing. However, a colleague brought me some samples of the citrus and ginger flavors today. Oh yeah, if you're at all skeptical about making this investment, ask your local grocer if they have samples (you'll likely find them in the meat or fish department).

As an added perk to my love affair with Borsari....I discovered last night that it is produced by a former "neighbor" (I use the term loosely. He lived on the other end of the road I grew up on.) You can read all about it here.

Bon Appetit!

Our First CSA Meal of the Season

If you or anyone you know is on the fence with regard to joining a CSA I have three words for you...just do it! We have a small share (to supplement our small garden) at Holiday Brook Farm. Our first pick-up was last Saturday. As we pulled into the farm I was giddy with excitement (yeah, it doesn't take much). Upon filling our 1/4 bushel basket with fresh produce (with a side of pastured pork chops that my husband just couldn't resist) we were on our way and I was mentally preparing meals.

It has been very cool and wet in Western MA so far this growing season, but even so we ended up with -

• Four spring turnips
• Five radishes
• A head of baby bok choy
• A head of red leaf lettuce
• Braising Greens
• Spinach

I passed on the Kale (not my favorite) and Mesclun Mix, since I had some mixed salad greens in the fridge at home.

Our CSA provides a weekly newsletter and this week the featured recipe was Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Garlic. It was the perfect accompaniment to the grilled chops. With eight cloves of garlic, how could you go wrong? I'd highly recommend this simple recipe if you're looking for a delicious way to fix this veggie.

Ingredients:

1/3 c. chicken or vegetable broth

1 T soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

3 T vegetable oil

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 pounds (about 1 full sized) bok choy, chopped, leaves and stems separate

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp. salt (I omitted this)

Directions: Stir together broth, soy sauce, cornstarch and salt until cornstarch has dissolved; set aside. Heat a 14" wok (or heavy bottomed pan) over high heat until a drop of water evaporates instantly. Pour the oil down the side of wok and swirl to coat the sides. Add garlic and stir-fry, 5-10 seconds until pale golden. Add bok choy stems and stir fry until bright green and tender (a few minutes) and then add the leaves and stir-fry for 2 minutes longer until limp. Stir the broth mixture, then pour into the wok and cook for another 15 seconds. Turn the ehat down a bit, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are crisp tender (2-4 minutes). Stir in sesame oil and gransfer to a serving dish.

Bon Appetit!

How and Why This Blog Came to Be

What a Card and I have talked about beginning a blog to share our love of food, particularly local food, for some time now. I think it's actually her way of "forcing" me to join the blogger world, but I digress.

Anywho...the real motivating factor behind this endeavor (besides my desire to create a central location in which to store my thoughts/recipes/experiences related to eating and cooking local ingredients) is to create a resource, which is useful to others of similar mind. And hey, if our sharp wit provides an ounce of entertainment along the way, well, that's just a BONUS!

I'll be the first to admit, my level of commitment to eating locally varies, depending on the season (or my craving(s) at any particular moment). For instance, I love bananas and last time I checked, there weren't too many New England farms growing those delectable, yellow fruits. (I have tried to grow my own, but have not yet met with success. Sigh.) I think what's important, is that each individual establishes their own, personal comfort level with regard to eating locally. To some that may be a year -round commitment. For others that may mean choosing ingredients produced as close to home as possible (and perhaps during the growing months only).

So no matter what level you're at, I hope you'll visit us frequently, taking a little something away each time, while sharing your own thoughts and experiences.

Bon Appetit!

A blog about eating locally in New England

Welcome! Here we are, starting a new blog to share our love of local foods in New England. We'll be posting in season recipes, as well as reviews and information about local food.

We look forward to meeting you!

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I thought I better include a brief explanation of the older posts. Yes, this is really the first post on this blog, but I decided to pull some related content I'd written on other blogs, so that it would all be collected in one spot. I had recipes on my own blog, plus on a vegetarian blog I wrote for last summer. So I'm trying to move them all here!

Extras from the CSA

Yesterday, Ms. Sotorrific Twins asked a question about what you should do with stuff you get from a CSA that you don't want. I was going to just email her, but then I decided this could be part two of my CSA decision making series. Whoa, don't get me going, I might just post once every 6 months about CSAs!

The fact of the matter is, with many CSAs, you end up with vegetables you don't want. Some CSAs are structured where you get to choose what you want, but many just give you a box of whatever is ripe on the farm that week. So what do you do with the vegetables you don't like?

The first thing I'd suggest is TRY THEM! Search around for a different recipe that uses the vegetable in a way you've never tried. You're getting the most fresh of the vegetables...it hasn't been trucked across the country or sat in a warehouse for a week. You might be pleasantly surprised by a vegetable you thought you didn't like.

But, there's probably no way you're going to like everything. Kohlrabi is my veggie I don't want anywhere near me...I tried it a few times last year, and never liked it. I'm not sure yet if I'll even bother taking it at this year's CSA pickups. Icky! So here some ideas of what to do with those extras:

• Talk to your CSA about setting up a "trade table", where people leave things they don't want and take something they do want. I mean, you're probably never going to find the popular veggies on the trade table, but you may be able to swap out your kale for kohlrabi or something. The CSA I belonged to tried this one week last year, and unfortunately, at least when I was there, the "trade table" just became filled with kohlrabi. I guess I'm not the only one who isn't a fan! But in theory this might work.
• Talk to your CSA about the possibility of organizing a donation to a local food pantry or hunger relief agency (if any can use fresh veggies). People can just leave whatever they get too much of, or don't want, and then a volunteer (probably you, if it's your idea!) can deliver it to the charity. Our CSA donates to hunger relief agencies, and I absolutely LOVE this about them, and it was one of the main reasons I chose them. If there's stuff in our pickup I don't want or know I won't be able to use, most times I just don't take it and know it'll go to good use.
• Offer the vegetable(s) you don't want to someone else who is there picking up at the same time. One week last summer, a family with a child with soy allergies offered us their edamame. I love edamame, so was quite excited! That vegetable you hate may be a favorite of the person standing next to you.
• Bring the vegetables home and offer them to friends/neighbors/coworkers/family. Someone will probably want it.
• Use the veggies to make stock, which can be frozen or used to make some yummy soup (thanks to the suggestion from Small Footprints. I've always been scared from some unknown reason of making stock, but I think I'll give it a try this summer!)
  
• If all else fails, start composting. I mean, I would never take veggies with the intent of just throwing them on the compost pile, but if all else fails, and despite your best efforts you can't get rid of them and just can't eat them before they go bad, well at least with a compost bin/pile, it's not a complete and total waste.

One of the things I love about a CSA is getting to try all different veggies and getting a big variety. I think a traditional CSA works best for people who aren't overly picky about their vegetables. If you and your family are exceedingly picky, then a CSA that offers you choices of what to take would probably be the best bet for you. Or shopping the farmers' markets, where you have total control of selection and quantity.

What other suggestions do you have for using up those unwanted veggies?

So who else is CSA'ing this summer? Or farmers' market'ing? Yay, I love summer!

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I'm going to be moving some of my posts from last year over to this site, to try to get related content all in one area, instead of spread out between different blogs :) This is my first try!