Minnesota Locavore

Happy Friday Minnesota. Hard to believe it’s the last one in August already! Just a quick post today, the kitchen partner and I have a full weekend planned–some hiking, some cooking, and a stop at the State Fair on Sunday. You can bet that we’ll be using Heavy Table’s State Fair Food Tour to find the best things on the menu.

When weekends get busy for us, we almost always turn to breakfast food. Even if it’s 9 PM. I could eat pancakes at any hour of the day. Egg dishes are quick to prepare, the ingredients are always in our refrigerator, both affordable and local. Check out this beautiful frittata the kitchen partner made this week (adapted from BH&G New CookBook with fresh sweet corn, tomatoes from the garden and lots of co-jack cheese. Gorgeous.

Vegetable Fritatta with Cheese

Ingredients 

7 eggs Larry Schultz Organics, Owatonna, MN
1 Tbsp. fresh basil Homegrown
2 Tbsp. sunflower oil Smude’s Sunflower Oil, Pierz, MN
1 C. fresh corn kernels Axdahl’s Garden Farm, Stillwater, MN
1/2 C. chopped zucchini Homegrown
1/2 C. chopped green onions w/tops Homegrown
1/2 C. chopped tomatoes Homegrown
3/4 C. shredded co-jack cheese Pasture Pride Cheese, Cashton, WI

Instructions
1. Crack eggs into a medium mixing bowl, add basil and beat eggs for 30 seconds.
2. Heat oil in a broiler-proof skillet over medium heat. Add vegetables and cook until tender (3-5 minutes). Spread vegetables into an even layer over skillet and pour the egg mixture over. Reduce heat and allow to cook until edges of eggs are set (about 5 minutes). While cooking, lift edges away from pan and allow uncooked eggs to run underneath. Do not scramble.
3. When eggs are mostly set, place under broiler and broil for 2-3 minutes or until eggs in the middle are set. Sprinkle with cheese and place under broiler for 1-2 minutes more, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

It’s state fair time!  I hope everyone is planning a trip to the Great Minnesota Get-Together this year and will find at least 1 tasty thing on a stick.  Last year the kitchen partner and I were even able to find a few things with the Minnesota Grown sticker on them (strawberry shakes at the dairy bar!)  We’ll be on the look out again this year on our handful of trips.

In honor of the start of the state fair, last night I made my own fair fare: sangria on a stick.  Brace yourself.  These late-summer treats are made with local watermelon, marinated for a few hours in a local wine and honey, and frozen for a crisp, tangy “adult popsicle.”  I chose watermelon from this past weekend’s farmers’ market, but any firm fruit would do.  I’d love to see strawberries, cantaloupe or cherries skewered and soaked.

Most Minnesotans don’t know that the State Fair is home to both an amateur wine show and the International Cold Climate Wine Competition winners.   If you stop in the Hort building you can sample local wine flights or wines by the glass that would be perfect for sangria.  It gives even the most experienced wine lovers a taste of the incredible diversity Minnesota wineries are producing each year.

Sangria on a Stick 

Ingredients 

1 C. watermelon, cut into 2″ cubes
1/4 C. white wine (give my favorites: Goose Lake, Falconer, Cannon River, or St. Croix Wineries a try!)
1 tsp. honey

Instructions
1. Place watermelon in an even layer in a shallow dish. Pour wine and honey over watermelon. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Skewer watermelon chunks on wooden skewers and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze 1-2 hours or until fruit is frozen.

Last weekend along with the kitchen partner’s ambitious corn project, he also canned 6 quarts of a spicy enchilada sauce.  Funny that it was supposed to be spaghetti sauce, but hey, it happens. (He misjudged the number of jalapeno peppers when doubling the recipe, but it turns out to be really good enchilada sauce).   All of the ingredients apart from the vinegar were from our community garden plot and the St. Paul Farmers’ Market.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings, walking the few blocks into the downtown market has become a weekend habit.  I love strolling up and down the aisles, watching for the ripest tomatoes and the fullest pint of raspberries.  Today’s reason to support local food relates to preserving the farmers’ market, as well as preserving the larger environment that sustains us all.

Why Buy Local #3:  Local producers have a greater incentive for sustainable practices.

 Follow this line of thought:

1. The local producers at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market have an established economy for their goods.  I (and other happy Minnesotans) show up every weekend knowing the market will be filled with tasty options.  The vendors show up knowing that I brought my wallet and am willing to pay a bit more for the quality they offer.
2. I (and other happy Minnesotans), will only show up every weekend as long as there is a quality product to buy.  There is an incentive for the vendors to have a great product.
3. Over time, conventional farming practices can deteriorate soil quality and the environment and consequently, deteriorate the quality of the product grown.  Production may go up in the short run, but quality will deteriorate in the long-term.
4. Because the vendors are secure in knowing there is an established market for their goods, and in order to maintain this economy, the vendors choose growing practices that will sustain their high quality product over time.
5. The methods that sustain the highest quality, freshest products also happen to be those that are better for the environment (organic, sustainable, intensive-planting, free-range, etc.) and sell the best.  Everyone wants the products that look the best.

One might even suggest buying local may be more environmentally sustainable than buying organic, since the distance an organic banana must travel to Minnesota still requires a measurable amount of fossil fuels.

Phew.  Got all that?  Now get this:  making your own enchilada sauce is almost as easy as opening the canned stuff.  Just as long as you aren’t expecting spaghetti sauce that is…

 Black Bean Enchiladas 

Ingredients

For the Sauce
2 C. chopped, seeded, peeled tomatoes
1/4 C. chopped, seeded, peeled cucumber
1/4 C. chopped, seeded green pepper
1/4 C. sliced green onion
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1/8 C. white vinegar

For the Enchiladas
3 C. black beans, cooked
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
12 taco shells

Instructions
1. Place all sauce ingredients in a large sauce pot. Heat to boiling over medium-heat and boil 10 minutes.  Using an immersion blender, blend sauce until smooth.  If you like sauce slightly chunkier, pulse the blender 3-4 times.  If you prefer smoother sauce, blend up to 90 seconds.

2. Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly spray a 9 x 13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1/2 C. sauce in the baking dish and use the back of a spoon to spread in an even layer over the bottom of the dish.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine beans, cheese and 1/4 of enchilada sauce. Spoon 1/4 C. of filling into a taco shell, roll up and place in the baking dish.  Repeat with each taco shell until dish is full.  Spoon any remaining filling mixture over the top of shells.  Cover with remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

4.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.  Serve with sour cream and favorite taco toppings.

I’ve always thought eggplant was exotic and cool; not quite vegetable, not exactly fruit. It can blend into the background of dishes or stand out as the star.  It grows a deep purple color of royalty and class.  It’s just all-around cool to see eggplant growing in the garden.

Honestly, I feel the same way about most things grown in Minnesota.  It’s impressive to me what we are able to produce in our region.  We may not have king crab or pineapples, but we have wheat.  Imagine what it’s like to be a Florida Locavore where wheat is not on the menu. No fresh warm bread.  No taco shells. No pasta. Be glad there’s wheat people.

Why Buy Local #2 :  Eating local food connects me to the place I live. 

Whether it’s growing an eggplant or visiting a free-range turkey farm, one of my favorite things about eating locally is what it teaches me about my home.  Since beginning a locavore diet last year, I have a better understanding of what grows in the region and who is growing it.  I am connected to the residents who grow in our community garden.  I am connected to the vendors who bring my produce to the farmers’ market each weekend.  I am connected to the regional resources pushing the local food movement forward.  Eating locally was how Minnesota came to feel like my community and my home.

Not only does eating locally connect me to the people, it also connects me to the Earth. Let’s face it, pumpkins do not grow in April any more than watermelon grows in November.  When I eat locally, I eat with the seasons and with the timing of the Earth.  It takes my patience in the spring when I’m itching to get in the garden, and it humbles me each fall when the first frosts ends the season.  Each of us needs a way to feel connected to our planet–if not we’re in serious trouble.  Local food is my way to connect.

All of the ingredients in this ratatouille bruschetta are local.  All are seasonal.  All connect me to Minnesota and the great community I live in, in one way or another.

Ratatouille Bruschetta 

Ingredients 

For the Ratatouille
1 medium eggplant, chopped in 1/2″ chunks
1 medium zucchini, chopped in 1/2″ chunks
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 C. sunflower oil
freshly ground black pepper

For the Bruschetta
1 loaf of crusty artisan bread, cut into 1/2″ slices
sliced mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions
1. Combine all ratatouille ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
2. Meanwhile, place one slice of mozzarella cheese on each slice of bread and place in one layer on a baking sheet. When vegetables are cooked, spoon 1-2 tablespoons of ratatouille mixture on each slice of bread.
3. Place under a broiler for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is toasted. Sprinkle each with parmesan cheese.

Minnesota Locavore has been nominated for the 2011 CBS Minnesota’s Most Valuable Blogger award in the Dining and Entertainment category. Voting runs through September 9. If you like what you read here, please cast your vote today! http://minnesota.blogger.cbslocal.com/most-valuable-blogger/vote/dining/

Where has August gone? There’s less than 10 days left until the end of the Eat Local America Challenge month, and so many good things to cook. Only a few days remain to dive into what this month is really all about: promoting the locavore movement.

My greatest hope for this project is not a million views a month. Sure, I’d quit my job, command a professional blogging career, and eat local food for a living. But let’s be honest, that’d be somewhere between utopia and paradise. Not likely.

Instead, the purpose of Minnesota Locavore is the possibility of change.  To help a few more readers to ask the same tough questions of our food system that I do.  To encourage a few more readers to start voting for local, with their dollars and their common sense. This week I’ll be adding in 3 major discussion points about what it means to be a locavore, and some of my thoughts on why I buy local.

Why Buy Local #1:  Fresh food is the best food.  Nothing is more fresh than local. 

We’ve all heard the statistic  that on average, our food travels more than 1,500 miles from grower to plate.  That’s 1,500 whopping miles and too many middle steps to count. Do I really want to eat a carrot that travels more miles in a year that I do?  Do I really want to know what has to be done to a carrot in order for it to travel that far, last on a supermarket shelf for a few more weeks, and still look edible in the little bag of pre-peeled chunks? Not so much.

What I really want to know is why we as Americans insist on owning the best house, in the best neighborhood, filled with the best electronics and a top-notch car out front, but we don’t demand the best on our plates?  We’re willing to pay 350% above cost for kitchen gadgets, but grumble at the premium on high quality, organic meat from a local farmer. We cringe at paying $2.99 a dozen for free-range local eggs that are hands-down the freshest on the shelf, because there’s a $0.99 option right next door.  But why?  Why do we settle?

The number one reason I don’t settle for less is simple.  Food is the fuel that sustains me as a human being.  Everyone’s got to eat. And if food is what keeps me alive, it had better be the best. Accepting anything else is to say, “Hey, I care more about saving some time and maybe a little money, than I do about caring for my body.” I demand fresh, less-processed food that is harvested at its peak and brought to my plate pronto. So should you.

Need more proof about the freshness difference?  Local tomatoes are plentiful and ripe right now.  Make a this fresh tomato soup, inspired by Mark Bittman’s recipe in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian Try one pot with local tomatoes and another pot with supermarket tomatoes, trucked in from out of the region.  Trust me. Even your spoon will know the difference.

Fresh Tomato Soup 

Ingredients 

2 Tbsp. sunflower oil Smude Sunflower Oil, Pierz, MN
2 Tbsp. tomato paste Homemade
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped St. Paul Farmers’ Market
1 large onion, chopped into 1/2″ pieces Homegrown
2 carrots, chopped into 1/2″ pieces Homegrown
2 stalks celery, chopped Homegrown
3 C. seeded, chopped tomatoes Homegrown
1/4 C mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped (thyme, basil, oregano–choose whatever you like) Homegrown
2 C. vegetable stock or water
1 tsp. maple syrup (optional) Sippl’s Sugarbush, Birnamwood, MN

Instructions
1. Heat oil in a sauce pot over medium-heat until warm. Add tomato paste and heat 2-3 minutes until paste begins to soften and thin. Add garlic, onion and carrots and cook until tender 5 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes and herbs, and cook 10 minutes reducing heat if tomatoes begin to boil. Stir often to avoid scorching to the bottom. When tomatoes are soft, add liquid and return to a simmer. Simmer another 15 minutes until vegetables are soft.
3. Using a food processor or immersion blender, remove 3 cups of the soup and blend until smooth. Return to pot and mix together. (If you prefer a smoother soup, you may blend the entire pot.)
4. Taste soup and if necessary, add maple syrup to cut acidity of tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with additional fresh herbs.

Minnesota Locavore has been nominated for the 2011 CBS Minnesota’s Most Valuable Blogger award in the Dining and Entertainment category. Voting runs through September 9. If you like what you read here, please cast your vote today! http://minnesota.blogger.cbslocal.com/most-valuable-blogger/vote/dining/