day six: market lessons, brunch confessions, and local pasta potluck!

The farmers' market necessitated two trips yesterday. Going early in the morning is amazing because you can find the rare things, like celery and no-sugar added (hence, 100% local) applesauce! I was so excited about the celery that I think the farmer thought I was crazy. I was still on an oat-finding mission, so I asked Tom Brantmeier (my local flour source) if he had oats, and he pretty much laughed in my face, saying it takes mega-amounts of work and you have to get a certain variety for it to work correctly, and the although he used to have oats, that nobody at the market besides him is "dumb enough" to sell them anymore. Sad. No oatmeal or granola for real now. I also bought rainbow trout fillets and asked a million questions about it. I couldn't bring myself to buy the ones with the heads still on, although the eyes looked kinda fake and googly-like -- not at all threatening.

Now I have a confession to make: I didn't cook my brunch after the market. I went to Bluephie's. They use local eggs, milk, cheese and potatoes, which they buy directly from the farmers several times a week. I felt pretty good about supporting a local restaurant that also supports local food. I have been feeling really run-down from the extra time/energy that cooking demands, that I just needed to sit down and eat something fantastic and relax. It was great.

Then for dinner I attempted homemade fresh pasta. I say "attempted" because although Troy said it tasted good, I think it was a challenge and not so much a success. First, I don't think the local whole wheat flour was great, and it was dense/slimy. I don't have a pasta-roller and so the hand-rolling proved difficult, as did the cutting/drying. The good news is that Troy made local sauce with tomatoes, portabellos and sausage from the market. This tasted absolutely awesome and covered-up the weird pasta taste. In the future, I would feel perfectly content to buy locally produced pasta from RP's Pasta, even though the wheat they use is not local.

day five: leftover happiness and homemade pizza!

Cooking recipes for one person is not easy, and wasting leftovers while trying to eat locally seems counter-intuitive to me. So the reality of this project is that sometimes I will have to eat leftovers. So yesterday (yes, I am a day behind on the blogsphere, but such is life) I had flatbread leftovers for breakfast and lunch. But I discovered something amazing -- my day old flatbread was much softer and more flavorful AND it split open in the middle like pita bread! I was so excited about this that I stuffed it full of havarti cheese and melted it until it tasted like the cheesy bread from Stella's Bakery! Okay, maybe not THAT good, but still, I was totally freaking out about this discovery.

For dinner I made homemade pizza! After the flatbread kneading incident I knew what to expect; so things went a little more smoothly with the pizza dough. I thought I had more than enough tomatoes for the sauce, but after the 40-50 minutes of cooking that Martha recommended, my sauce thickened so much that I barely had enough to spread over the crust! I compensated with tons of local mozzarella and added mushrooms and ukraine peppers for toppings. About twenty minutes later I had 100 percent local and homemade pizza!

I was happy to enjoy this meal with company, so Troy came over and brought some Capital Island Wheat beer, which is not within 100 miles of Madison, but still made with wheat from Wisconsin. Troy loves pizza more than anything, so I thought he would be a good judge, and he said it was very good! I also loved the whole wheat crust and the entire eating experience. Apart from Troy's pizza love-affair, I also wanted to share this meal with him because he is one of the reasons I undertook this project to eat locally. He knew I was interested in local food and sustainable agriculture so when he ran across an article on the 100 Mile Diet, he emailed it to me. From there I found blogs and other resources to begin the experience. The dinner was fantastic and I am really happy it turned out!

Tonight I try homemade pasta ... stay tuned!

day four: the best and worst day so far

This morning for breakfast I REALLY wanted some oatmeal. It's getting crisper and more fall-like outside and I just wanted something warm that didn't involve eggs. I looked all over the Dane County Farmers' Market website and noted one vendor that may or may not sell oats. According the the USDA's website, several farmers grow oats around here -- but I imagine most end-up untraceable, as they are used for feed or mass-produced cereal or something. So, no oatmeal for me anytime soon. I made zucchini fritters instead. These were the best recipe I have made yet this week. I used my local flour of course and the papusa instead of the zucchini, since that is what I had. Added an egg (again...) and some milk and parsley and voila! -- the most wonderful tasting thing I think I have ever made by myself! I am keeping this recipe up-front for future use; it's even good enough to serve other people. I was so pleased with how easily the squash shredded -- no wonder my mom always had several bags of shredded zucchini on-hand on the freezer.

As for the worser part of today. I made oregano flatbread. I'm not sure if it was the local flour or my amateur bread-baking skills (probably the latter), but kneading was one awful chore! Everything was a sticky mess and I learned that when Martha says to have extra flour on-hand for the kneading process, she really means it. After more than three hours of being annoyed and not at all finding breadmaking therapeutic, I finally had myself some flatbread that didn't suck. I was so happy that it actually sorta-kinda worked out and tasted good enough, that I ate half of it for lunch on its own. I think I will eat more for dinner, with some havarti cheese and leftover roasted vegetables. I cannot cook anything else today; no way.

day three: lunch and dinner and a market too

For lunch today I made Eggplant Ragout which sounds much fancier than it tastes. I needed a zucchini for the recipe so I walked down my street to the Wednesday Farmers Market. The farmers were still unpacking and the air was so chilly that everyone was wearing fleece and hats. I loved it. I spotted some zucchini-looking-things and asked what they were. Papusa squash -- a cousin of the zucchini except that they hold together better while cooking. Perfect; I bought six. I also bought some raspberries and leeks (for soup later this week (not the raspberries)). I snacked on the raspberries all day, realizing that I cannot actually find Martha recipes for snacks as well. However, I will definitely eat local snacks like raspberries and popcorn.

For dinner I made mashed potatoes and buttered carrots with parsley. I love how much better things taste when I follow a recipe. Before this week, I would have boiled the yukon potatoes and maybe swished them around in a skillet with some olive oil. The carrots would have been thrown on my plate, raw and unpeeled. I had to innovate with Martha's mashed potatoes a bit since she called for either a ricer or one of those amazing Kitchen-Aid mixers that I really really want but won't get until I at least graduate and move to a bigger place, or until I maybe find one on the curb (haha). Instead I took what I had -- a plastic potato masher and mashed them up real good before adding the butter and the warmed milk. Both the potatoes and the carrots had perfect flavors and tasted great alongside the Wollersheim wine I drank.

For once, an early dinner. I think tomorrow I will make some bread. I can't wait for the weekend; I am planning a pizza night and a homemade pasta night -- both firsts for me!

day three: breakfast and too many eggs??

Last night I saw the Brunettes play at the High Noon Saloon, which was excellent. However, I had to forgo an all-out Martha recipe in exchange for a quick grab-and-go dinner of leftover popovers and some slices of havarti cheese from Bleu Mont Dairy in Blue Mounds, WI. Still very good and better than a frozen dinner for sure!

For breakfast this morning I made a dutch baby pancake. I had never heard of these before, but I chose the recipe based solely on its all-local ingredients list (except the cardamom, which I left out). This tasted awesome! It was so fun to make because the honey and apples start out on the bottom of the dish and after they are baked, they pop right up to the top! This time what was supposed to pop-up actually did pop-up and the taste was so so good. My apartment smells like apple crisp too!

On a nutritional note ... I feel like I am eating eggs and a lot of dairy protein so far. The Martha recipes that are local-doable, seem to call for plenty of dairy farm type items. I think it's okay so far, but I might need to learn how to cook a chicken soon, especially since before this project I tended to get my protein from beans and hummus-type stuff. I'll look for some poultry and red meat or trout at the market this Saturday. And I'll look for a local-compliant Martha recipe as well.

day two: lunch and issues of time

I ate a very late lunch at 4pm, but it was amazing. I never understood why cookbooks had salad recipes. What's so hard about throwing some vegetables and dressing over some greens? Well, after the warm mushroom salad I had for lunch -- I might never go back to regular non-recipe salads again. I baked cremini mushrooms in Wollersheim wine with a little garlic, and then mixed it all in with more Harmony Valley greens and some freshly chopped parsley, oregano, mint and sage. Cooking with fresh mint is new to me, but the flavor it adds to things is so beyond perfect.

The most difficult thing so far hasn't been my chocolate withdrawal (only two days in, I know -- but I eat A LOT of dark chocolate!!), but rather the time and timing involved with actually cooking my meals. As a grad student/teaching assistant/reference librarian/waitress, I rarely have time for sleep, much less cooking and doing all the dishes that cooking calls for. Today I worked the reference desk, taught a Photoshop class and rushed home to make/eat my mushroom salad before heading back downtown for a 2.5 hour long lecture. Most days like these, I grab a LUNA bar to tide me over. But only two short days into this project and I will never look at LUNA bars the same again. The ingredients are all processed and untraceable and Martha doesn't have any recipes that come close to recreating my favorite convenience snack. Which all makes me think that they are something I will for sure eliminate from my diet altogether, even after this month is over.

day two: breakfast: omelette 101

For breakfast this morning I made an omelette with feta, dill and cherry tomatoes. Martha's omelette instructions are two pages long and call for clarified butter. Clarifying butter is easier than it sounds and now I have a mason jar full of it in my freezer.

Making the omelette was harder than I had anticipated, especially the folding part. It was supposed to look like a "half moon" -- but I had to compromise and do a tri-fold thing since my half-moon attempt didn't work out. Oh well -- it tasted buttery and clarified and delicious anyways. And all local as well.

day one: lunch and dinner (with added notes)

For lunch today I made a roasted vegetable salad over Harmony Valley greens with cauliflower, beets, carrots, red onion, red bell pepper and red potatoes. I made the dressing with the remnants from the roasting pan and some boiled apple cider. This was divine. And simple too!

For dinner I made the "inside-out" tomato sandwich with warmed herbs and oil. Although it tasted great, I felt a little too gourmet for myself -- eating this tomato drizzled with warmed oil and fresh mint, sage, oregano and parsley. Not sure if I'll keep this one for the recipe box. I did have to innovate a little, as Martha called for sourdough bread. I just used the bottom of a leftover popover. It was the perfect size. I think I will tackle the bread making in a few days.

On another note: I was largely inspired to begin eating more locally by a Madison family -- Jen, Scott and Evie. I let them know this, and they offered me some homemade cornmeal and vinegar to expand my cooking options! I was so warmed by their generosity and support of my project. I think eating locally will have more benefits than I had thought. The thoughtfulness of people I don't even know...

day one: breakfast: local success; culinary semi-success

So the experiment/experience has begun and it began with my favorite meal -- breakfast. I attempted Martha's Rosemary Shallot Popovers and every ingredient was local! I just replaced the recipe's all-purpose flour with my local whole wheat flour and used butter in place of canola oil.

The cooking itself was was less successful. My popovers looked more like "cave-ins" and I'm pretty sure it wasn't just the whole wheat flour's fault. Here is what happened: I mixed all the batter together and poured it into the muffin tins (note: I do not own a popover tin; I have never even seen one) after the butter started sizzling. I started studying as the popovers started to bake, and something caused me to look over at the stovetop. What was on the stovetop? The rosemary-shallot mixture! I had completely forgotten to add the most important part of the recipe to the rest of the batter! Only five minutes had passed, so I simply took the muffin tin out of the oven and sprinkled the rosemary-shallot mixture on top of the batter in each cup.

In the end, although my popovers caved rather then popped, I thought they tasted amazing! This is a recipe I will keep local and keep on record for future use. I'll just remember to follow the recipe more closely.

preparations -- and defining "local"

The farmers market was overflowing by 7:30 am. After the first of four streets my arms were tired -- I had so much food. The convenience store is called that for a reason. The carts are really nice. Not like the farmers market is inconvenient; I am lucky enough to have 3 different ones each week within walking distance of my apartment.

I live in a studio apartment with about one foot of kitchen counter-space and a dorm-sized refrigerator and freezer. It's not that my landlords are cheap (although, what landlords in Madison aren't?) -- but there just isn't enough room in my kitchen to put any large appliances. I can't fit everything I bought today into my fridge and so I am hoping things like apples and beets will be okay on the counter for awhile.

At the market I learned from Tom Brantmeier what the difference is between hard and soft whole wheat flour. Then I bought the hard flour -- better for baking bread. I have never made bread by hand. I don't know exactly how to knead dough, and I hope I can find a Wikipedia entry on that. Actually, I didn't own a rolling pin until last week and it's still wrapped in the plastic casing.

Yes, it is time I learned to cook. And I want to begin my cooking experience with local ingredients. If I begin by examining whole ingredients used in recipes, I think I will really be able to understand what I take for granted. And what I am willing to compromise.

I always thought I ate "locally" -- but when I learned about the authors of Plenty eating within a 100 mile radius of their home, I began to see that what I eat every day, just is not local at all. Wheat is difficult to come by, olive oil is out of the question. Salt, pepper, chocolate, sugar, coffee, most spices. What on earth can I actually cook without those things? Oh yeah -- and I eat rice and beans at least once a day, every day. No more of that.

I 'm choosing the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook to explore for one month because it's somewhere in between the dumbed-down Rachel Ray and the out-of-my-league-right-now Alice Waters. I want a cookbook to cover all the basics and bases. From meat to poultry, breads, pasta, pizza, pies, cakes and drinks. I want to learn how to knead dough and cut carrots into batons.

But as I poured over each recipe, I realized that only six recipes (yes, I'm serious) could be cooked in their entirety with ingredients grown within 100 miles of my apartment in Madison. And this is assuming I let myself use salt (not local) and that I actually have the equipment (ricer or food mill, anyone?). My experiment in learning to cook locally seemed doomed.

That said, I have given myself some exceptions. If I let myself use one non-local ingredient on top of the salt, I could add about 50 more recipes to my learning experience. Olive oil. I think California has the closest olive oil, but the thought of using bacon grease for all my cooking is grossing me out right now. Also, if I use my local Brantmeier Farm flour in place of the all-purpose flour that Martha calls for, I add several more recipes -- although Martha might be unhappy with the results. Anyways, I am just fine with disappointing both Martha and hardcore locavores for the exchange of one ingredient on each side of the fence.

The point of all this isn't to prove something but rather to really think about ingredients and how far they have traveled -- while learning how to cook actual recipes.

Things I will miss: chocolate, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, cumin, tuna, peanut butter (already made), rice, chickpeas, and lentils.

anticipation: "julie & julia" meets "omnivore's dilemma" meets "alone in the kitchen with an eggplant"

I've planned the first week's worth of recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tomorrow I will stalk the ingredients at the farmers market and determine where I can find the remaining "100-mile-diet" compliant things. I start the cooking on Monday. Stay tuned.