Category Archives: meat & dairy

Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad

27 July 2009 by local kitchen

My cherry tomato plants are finally producing enough for a decent harvest. I collected two big handfuls (just under a pint) the other day and decided to make one of our summer favorites: crisp, cool and refreshing cucumber, tomato & feta salad. This salad is so simple that the ingredients completely make or break the dish: source the freshest, best-tasting vegetables you can find. Sample cherry tomatoes at the farmer’s market. Look for cucumbers that are firm and heavy for their […]

Categories: basil, cheese, cucumber, salad, side dish, summer, tomatoes • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, salad

Battle of the Cake Flour Substitutes

23 July 2009 by local kitchen

My friend Nadine’s birthday is tomorrow; I’m going over to her place next week to celebrate, birthday cake in hand. After the Kami Cake Debacle, I decided that I would do a little advance planning, even though 1) the oven is now fixed, 2) I am the proud owner of an oven thermometer, and 3) presumably I can put together a simple butter cake without undue panic. Uh huh. Exactly what I thought. So, I decided to test out my […]

Categories: baking, cake, chocolate, dessert, eggs, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes

Bone-in Chicken Breasts on the Grill

15 July 2009 by local kitchen

Let’s face it: there are few things more convenient than boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They even come in packages of chicken tenders: no slicing required! So easy. Yet, for me, that’s the basic definition of fast food: what you gain in convenience you sacrifice in flavor, not to mention all of the other good reasons to eat locally; supporting your farming neighbors, keeping open land from development, promoting sustainability. Most small farmers cannot afford to sell boneless, skinless chicken breasts: the extra processing […]

Categories: 100% local, chicken, grill, main course, summer • Tags: BBQ, bone-in, chicken, cooking, dinner, food, grilled, grilling, local, recipes, summer

Pork Tenderloin on the Grill

30 June 2009 by local kitchen

It’s amazing what a few days of sun can do; my tomato plants and nasturtiums have burst into bloom, wild black raspberries are ripening in the backyard, and I am feeling motivated and productive. Could it be that summer is here at last? In celebration of summer-like temperatures and the complete lack of any sort of precipitation, Tai fired up the grill last night and we cooked some tiny little pork tenderloins from New England Farms. Although I often put […]

Categories: 100% local, grill, main course, pork, sauces, summer • Tags: cooking, food, grilling, local, pork, recipes

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Flageolet and Roasted Garlic Spread

16 June 2009 by local kitchen

More picnic fare that is easy to make, travels well, yet is impressively yummy and leaves friends wanting more. With the exception of olive oil and black pepper, this spread can be made entirely local with Navy beans from Cayuga Pure Organics; or you could do what I did and fly to San Francisco, visit friends, and hit up the Rancho Gordo booth at the Ferry Building! Adapted from Cannellini Bean Confetti Spread in Heirloom Beans, by Steve Sando […]

Categories: appetizer, beans, cheese, chives, fall, garlic, grains & legumes, heirloom beans, herbs, spring, summer • Tags: beans, cooking, food, garlic, local, recipes

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Whole Grain Blueberry Pancakes

12 June 2009 by local kitchen

I must confess: as someone who owns quite a few cookbooks (not exactly 101, but it’s getting there), and who actually does a lot of cooking, it seems odd that I don’t own the Joy of Cooking. I don’t own Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, I don’t own the Betty Crocker cookbook, I don’t even own Julia’s masterwork on French cooking. Considering that my cooking career began well before the Internet, it seems odd that I don’t have more of […]

Categories: 100% local, berries, breakfast, eggs, fruit, milk, summer, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: breakfast, cooking, food, recipes

Cranberry Bean & Turkey Chili

4 June 2009 by local kitchen

Strangely enough, I’ve never made a traditional, American, ground-meat-and-beans chili. I’ve made authentic Mexican chile verde, plenty of bean and meat stews, and certainly do my fair share of cooking with fresh and dried chile peppers, but somehow I’ve never made the standard Sunday-afternoon-football, serve-an-army chili. (I guess I still haven’t when you consider the heirloom Vermont cranberry beans and Kosher ground turkey; “Kaela Tries to Cook American Food and Fails Miserably – Film at 11!”). It may be because I almost never […]

Categories: 100% local, beans, heirloom beans, hot chile peppers, main course, spring, stew, tomatoes, turkey, wine, beer & liquor, year round • Tags: beans, chili, cooking, food, heirloom beans, local, recipes, turkey

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Asparagus, Andouille & Spring Greens Frittata

2 June 2009 by local kitchen

Leftover grilled asparagus, kale & pastured eggs from Saturday’s farmer’s market, andouille sausage, and homemade mozzarella combined to make today’s lunch something special. ————————————————————– Asparagus, Andouille & Spring Greens Frittata INGREDIENTS bacon grease, lard or olive oil 2 lbs potatoes, scrubbed and diced to 1/2-inch 2 links (about 6 oz) andouille sausage, sliced in half lengthwise 1 large onion, diced 1 large bunch (about 1 lb) kale, chard or other leafy green, coarsely chopped about 12 stalks cooked asparagus, tips chopped to 3 […]

Categories: 100% local, asparagus, breakfast, cheese, herbs, kale & leafy greens, main course, parsley, potato, sausage, spinach, spring • Tags: cooking, eggs, food, frittata, local, recipes

Three-Bean Veggie Burger

31 May 2009 by local kitchen

It’s weird to think that just today I was making fun of Guy Fieri on the Facebook page, yet when I first made these burgers, I had never heard of him. Oh, the innocence of the Aughts. Of course, it was the Tweens that brought us this gem of a review on Guy’s American Tourist Trap in Times Square: I’m a decade-is-half-full kind of girl. . . . I must admit, I’ve been pretty successful in my New Year’s resolution to […]

Categories: beans, chickpeas, eggs, grains & legumes, main course, oats, parsley, radish, vegetable, vegetarian, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Pork Chop Heaven

19 May 2009 by local kitchen

I’ve found Pork Chop Heaven. This is one of those meals; one of those meals that made me start this blog, so I wouldn’t longingly remember Pork Chop Heaven, yet have no memory of how to get back there. One of those meals that makes me think I can never go totally vegetarian. One of those meals that makes me bless the noble pig: a magical, wonderful animal. One of those meals that makes Tai say “How do you do […]

Categories: chutneys, cranberries, garlic, jellies, main course, pork, quick & easy, rhubarb, spring • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

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Easy Breezy Pea(sy) Salad

26 April 2009 by local kitchen

Update: Funny to see how hot it was in April, three years ago, when here we are in June 2012 and it’s been chilly, grey and rainy for days. This time around, with fresh peas-from-the-pod, ever so slightly steamed, and radishes & lettuce from the first CSA of the year, this salad was still easy, breezy, pea(sy) good. —————————– This crazy “Spring” weather, with temps approaching 90 degrees, has got me not wanting to do much of anything beyond laying in front of […]

Categories: cheese, dill, lettuce, peas, radish, salad, spring, vegetarian • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, radish, recipes, salad, spring, vegetarian

Cranberry Roasted Turkey Breast

20 April 2009 by local kitchen

Easiest. Dinner. Ever. Seriously, this meal is a stand-by at our house and truly could not be easier (unless you’re calling for take-out, of course). Cranberries and turkey go naturally together and make everyone think of Fall; but cranberries are excellent for much more than just cranberry sauce, just as turkey should not be relegated only to Thanksgiving. Cranberries are naturally acidic, and in addition to tasting fabulous with turkey, will work to tenderize the flesh and makes the most […]

Categories: 100% local, citrus, cranberries, roasting, sauces, turkey, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Caldo Verde

20 April 2009 by local kitchen

Ten years ago, I spent three weeks in Portugal, tooling about the countryside in a rented Suzuki (the “A” car for the “E” price), sight-seeing, visiting family & friends, and watching a whole lot of football (soccer, in our football-heathen country). I still remember having caldo verde, literally “green soup,” nearly every day. It’s a traditional dish in Portugal, and on the menu pretty much everywhere you go, with a broth as light as air but full of flavor, bright […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, kale & leafy greens, pork, potato, sausage, soup, spring, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, soup

Grilled Salsa Chicken & Fire-roasted Corn

16 April 2009 by local kitchen

Just in time for a gorgeous, sunny Spring weekend: quick & easy grilled marinated chicken and roasted corn – the flavors of summer (without the 98% humidity!). Given how simple this meal is, it’s unbelievable how flavorful it is. The corn is a revelation; pure summer, captured at it’s peak last August and roasted over smoky coals until the flavor makes you want to write an opera (Ode To Corn? A-Maizing Maize? Corn Cob Blues? OK, I’ll stop now). Seriously, […]

Categories: 100% local, chicken, fall, grill, main course, peaches, quick & easy, roasting, salsa, spring, summer • Tags: cooking, food, grilling, local, recipes

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Mac. And. Cheese.

8 April 2009 by local kitchen

I can think of but one response to snow (yes, I said snow) on April 8th – mac and cheese. There are about a gizillion recipes out there for macaroni and cheese (actually Google informs me that there are “about 1,420,000“); this one is a classic version, with a bechamel-cheese sauce, a little salt, pepper & nutmeg, and not much else. I like a lot of different varieties of mac & cheese – the Half King in Chelsea makes a great version […]

Categories: 100% local, cheese, pasta, year round • Tags: cheese, cooking, food, local, main course, pasta, recipes, vegetarian