Tag: local

Chile Verde Carnitas

8 March 2010 by local kitchen

Sad to say, this recipe was pretty disappointing, so if you are looking for a great, authentic Mexican carnitas recipe, stop reading now. The recipe does have it’s benefits: it was easy, if lengthy, to prepare; it was not the cholesterol-and-fat-laden traditional carnitas preparartion; and, you did not have to go out and buy 3 pounds of lard. However… next time, I will probably buy 3 lbs of lard. I’ve never attempted carnitas before, and hadn’t really thought about it; […]

Categories: 100% local, cilantro, main course, pork, summer, tomatillos, year round • Tags: carnitas, cooking, food, local, Mexican, pork, recipes, summer

Flageolet Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

5 March 2010 by local kitchen

Flageolet beans are quite wonderful. They’re small and a beautiful mix of white and pale green when dried. Cooked, they hold their shape and color well and smell amazingly wonderful while simmering away on the stove. They have a slightly spicy, very distinctive, very hard-to-describe aroma and taste, that somehow reminds me of Spring. I was lucky enough to receive some Rancho Gordo flageolet beans for Christmas from my friend Christina (the gift that keeps on giving!) and they were […]

Categories: beans, heirloom beans, main course, quick & easy, side dish, spring, tomatoes, vegetarian, year round • Tags: beans, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Cilantro & Mint-Infused Wheat Bread

2 March 2010 by local kitchen

This herb-infused wheat bread is lovely; soft, flavorful, excellent with dinner, as toast with butter, or on its own. I made two loaves yesterday, as part of the birthday dinner menu for our friend Alison. While it can be a bit of a challenge to knead (mostly because I am always too lazy to chop the pine nuts and they come popping out of the dough while kneading), it is an easy bread dough to make and a forgiving one […]

Categories: baking, breads, cilantro, grains & legumes, mint, whole wheat flour, winter, year round • Tags: baking, bread, cooking, food, local, recipes, whole grain breads

Dark Days: Roasted Leek Confit Pizza

28 February 2010 by local kitchen

This roasted leek confit was quite fabulous and formed the basis of an impromptu Saturday-night pizza dinner with friends, big and small. Handily for me, most of the elements of the pizza were also local, making it a perfect spotlight meal for this week’s Dark Days Challenge. I highly recommend it after a day of sledding and building snowwomen in the yard! ————————————————————- Roasted Leek Confit Pizza INGREDIENTS 1 recipe Quick(er) Whole Grain Pizza dough olive oil about 1 oz hard […]

Categories: 100% local, basil, Dark Days Local, leek, main course, pizza, vegetarian, whole wheat flour, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Locavirgin: Roasted Leek Confit

28 February 2010 by local kitchen

Roasted leeks: who knew they could be so awesome? In doing some advance research on allium recipes for the March Can Jam, I came across this recipe in The Glass Pantry for leeks, slow-roasted in olive oil. Simplicity itself: leeks, oil, salt, pepper. The roasting and the fat combine to extend the (already pretty impressive) storage time of the leeks, and the flavor? Outrageous. This is an easy way to work local foods into your diet even if finding […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, condiments, fall, leek, Locavirgin, roasting, spreads, spring, vegetarian, winter • Tags: confit, cooking, food, leeks, local, preserving, recipes, vegetarian

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

26 February 2010 by local kitchen

Buttermilk + butter + extra butter = one delicious biscuit. These are a snap to make and truly delicious – cripsy, golden on the outside and moist & fluffy on the inside. The recipe is based on the James Beard cream biscuits, but since I did not have any cream in the house, I used buttermilk and added back some fat with melted butter in the dough. So easy, so good. The one change I would make is to omit […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, breakfast, quick & easy, whole wheat flour, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Cajun Chicken Pasta

25 February 2010 by local kitchen

While I read The Pioneer Woman’s blog regularly, and truly enjoy her writing and photography, I think this is the first time I have attempted one of her recipes. Well, let’s face it: she lives on a cattle ranch – I don’t eat beef. She cooks for Marlboro Man, her 4 kids, and various and sundry cowpokes, relatives, Ranch visitors, etc. – I cook for me and Tai. Last, but hardly least, there is nothing particularly seasonal about her cooking, […]

Categories: chicken, corn, garlic, hot chile peppers, main course, parsley, stir-fry, tomatoes, wine, beer & liquor, winter, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, dinner, food, local, main course, recipes

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

23 February 2010 by local kitchen

I was in the mood for something a little sweet, a little crunchy. We had some orange glaze leftover from Tai’s Valentine cupcakes, so I thought a simple sugar cookie was in order, something that would go nicely with the intensely orange-flavored glaze. Humph, simple she says. Even I, advocate of the “quality ingredients make the simple special” school, sometimes forget. A “simple” cookie of buttter, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla bean becomes magical when your butter is from Ronnybrook, your […]

Categories: baking, dessert, non-local luxuries, year round • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, local, recipes

Locavirgin: Thick Cut Pork Chops with Simple Pan Sauce

19 February 2010 by local kitchen

Pork chops can be frustrating. In my opinion, few things are as simply, wonderfully good as a pan-fried pork chop. Simple, she says? Ah, therein lies the rub. As with so many “simple” recipes, it is all about the quality of the ingredients and the execution of the technique. When a recipe has only 3 or 4 ingredients, each of those ingredients really needs to shine. And, when the whole point of the recipe is to allow those beautiful ingredients to shine, there will be […]

Categories: 100% local, fall, herbs, Locavirgin, main course, pork, thyme, wine, beer & liquor, winter, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, quick & easy, recipes

Can Jam: Apple Carrot Chile Chutney

17 February 2010 by local kitchen

Say that 10 times fast. I have to admit that when this month’s Can Jam ingredient was announced as carrots, I was a little… uninspired. While I applaud the choice as a “stretch” goal, I just wasn’t that excited about my BWB carrot canning possibilities. Not that I don’t like carrots, I do, but they are a low-acid food and we all know that I’m no friend of the pickle. There are some carrot marmalade and jam recipes out there, but […]

Categories: 100% local, apples, Can Jam, canning, carrot, chutneys, condiments, fall, preserving, winter • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local, preserving, recipes

Dark Days: Thick Cut Pork Chops with Roasted Vegetables

16 February 2010 by local kitchen

For Valentine’s Day dinner, I had planned to use the last of our Flying Pigs pork; two thick pork chops that have been in our chest freezer since our last delivery of Flying Pigs back in the Fall. I realized, after reading Sophie’s post on her Dark Days meal of the week, that 1) I had also had local pork chops, and 2) I had forgotten to post my DDC Meal of the Week. As so often happens, when 90% […]

Categories: 100% local, Dark Days Local, main course, pork, winter • Tags: cooking, food, local, pork, recipes

Nachos

11 February 2010 by local kitchen

Satisfying. That’s the word for these nachos. Basic, yes; merely four ingredients make up the basis of this dish; but endlessly versatile and oh-so satisfying. We’ve all had our share of nachos – they’ve practically become as American as hot dogs and apple pie. They are the easy bar food that everyone can agree upon; the post-soccer fuel that you shovel in with abandon; the football-watching crowd favorite. But how often have you had really good nachos? The kind with a perfect ratio of […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, beans, cheese, quick & easy, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, nachos, party food, quick & easy, recipes, vegetarian

Refried Beans

10 February 2010 by local kitchen

Hands up everyone who knew that “refried beans” is a misnomer: frijoles refritos actually translates as “well-fried beans” (hat-tip to Elise at Simply Recipes for that handy piece of trivia). I certainly didn’t know (although the whole “re-fried” concept never made much sense to me, and frying twice, well, ew). I don’t even like refried beans, but then again, given the lame flavor and unpleasant, mealy texture of the dish that I think of as “refried beans” I doubt that I’ve […]

Categories: 100% local, appetizer, beans, heirloom beans, side dish, spreads, vegetarian, year round • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes, vegetarian

Dark Days: A Northeast Gathering

8 February 2010 by local kitchen

Way back in December, at the beginning of the Dark Days Challenge, Sophie of Late Bloomer’s Farm contacted a few fellow Dark Dayers and other local foodies in the Northeast and suggested a gathering; a local potluck where we would get together, bring some of our favorite seasonal, local dishes, and get to know each other outside of the cozy confines of the Interwebs. What a wonderful time! Sophie, as the hostess with the mostest, gathered us all together at her […]

Categories: 100% local, Dark Days Local • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes

Glazed Berry Tart with Sweet Ricotta Filling

8 February 2010 by local kitchen

This tart is a riff on my standard Glazed Blackberry Tart recipe, with an added sweet cheese filling and 100% local ingredients for our Northeast Dark Days gathering (Dark Days post to follow- stay tuned!). This is a lovely tart to make in the winter, when fresh berries are still months away, yet you can relive the taste of summer with berries from the freezer. It can easily be made with any frozen berries you have on hand, and a variety […]

Categories: 100% local, baking, berries, cheese, Dark Days Local, dessert, pastry, winter • Tags: baking, cooking, dessert, food, local