Saturday, August 20, 2011

Friday's Menu

I was so busy cooking yesterday that I was unable to even post this menu. Always hate it when I miss a day blogging!

One of the things that I love about having a chalk board wall is that I now use it to write down menu items as I go...erasing and  re-writing as I dither.  Yesterday for example I was torn between making a cobbler or a crumble....I always make crumbles, so I was thinking maybe a cobbler would be better.  At the last moment I made a crumble - I just love the nutty sweet buttery crumble juxtaposed to the not-too-sweet fruit filling, in this instance I used local NJ Peaches and organic Maine blueberries from my friend Jane's daughters farm Intervale Blueberry Farm

Often people add citrus to blueberry pie/crumble/cobblers I didn't last night, mostly because I didn't use a recipe and was doing too much to properly focus.  Also I have this weird desire to want to not use citrus except when it is essential, I know this is kind of silly, but when making such a local delight I try to keep it as local as possible so imported citrus, seems well... less then ideal.  Crazy right?  Even though I made it with Pecans (from California?)

I wish we had a good source of local Walnuts, but I think I have only ever seen them at the market once or twice, outrageously expensive and still in their green casings...so not really a practical option.
Anyway that's just a little insight into my own madness and how I go about thinking of what to cook and how to cook it once I finally make a decision.  Every day I have a different outcome, some days I just say Fuck it and use out of season flown in ingredients, but mostly I try to use as the core to my meal, things I bought from farmers at the green market. I still find the idea of being a locavore an interesting challenge, something to work towards on a daily basis. 

Even though, for the most part, it's pretty much impossible be 100 percent local without making serious changes to how you cook.  For me what is most important is just making the effort.  Do what you can and don't fret about the rest (even though I do love to fret...)

Here's a picture of the crumble in question:
Recipes and a bunch more pictures from last night to come!

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