Veggies, love the veggies!

Who could know that a potato could be so wonderful when it is really fresh. I should after all I come from Maine. But I am here to tell you that a good red potato harvested this fall and kept well is so much creamier and tasty than some of the ones I get at the local box store. I was shocked at the difference. My grandchildren love potatoes, love them! A big bowl of smashed potatoes with butter and milk is like a gift to them. They were all excited by the difference and how good these potatoes really were.

Here is a great article about potatoes : http://www.mvproduce.com/spudfacts.html

Next love of mine is the onion. I have become this raging fan of roasted veggies and onions are just too good. I wondered about the nutritional value of onions so I went to the web while there were many sites that talked about the wonder of onions this was one of my favs...and no big pop up ads!: http://www.onions-usa.org/about/nutrition.php

Next is mushrooms and I particularly like the small porta bellas (kind of pricey but yummie and no not all local this time of year but soooo good) this was harder to find a good article but I think this one was pretty good. http://www.shoprite.com/Cnt/IngredientforHealthyLivingMushrooms.html

So there are my two favorite veggies roasted. Although recently I roasted Carrots (Maine), Parsnips (Maine), Potatoes (Maine) and onions (Maine) and had a wonderful yummie dinner..Oh did I say I added Maine garlic (got to wash the dirt out)...Very delicious and good for me. Love veggies and never make me feel full. I highly recommend them.

Kids and Good Food!

My two grand girls (4 and 5) provide some interesting insight into good eating habits. First a disclaimer Lexie's favorite food in the world is box mac and cheese and that is all there is to it, she is the five year old. Skyler's a bit more diverse and she changes her food likes more often. Right now she likes English muffins and cinnamon for breakfast but just a while ago it was oatmeal. However they both love many fruits and vegetables.

Yesterday they both asked for mashed potatoes for lunch even when given the option for local fast food. Breakfast was yogurt and berries and yes a few local donut holes from Tim Horton's. It is funny Lexie tries to like the donut holes but mostly likes the way they look..and in the end all the yogurt was gone, the berries and we threw away several donut holes. Dinner was pasta...sure do love that! Sky likes the meatballs too but for Lexie it is simple butter and pasta. For a night snack we had some cut up apples and a few not so healthy gold fish. But on balance they are pretty darn good about choosing healthy alternatives.

Some quick things that make them very happy. Keep frozen berries-heating up frozen blue berries just enough to take the frost off makes them very happy and blue. Cheese is a great snack food. Skyler loves a bowl of freshly shredded cheddar cheese, it makes messy but fun finger food. She also loves mozzarella with olive oil and a bit of salt (no pepper please). Grapes are favorites and a bunch will not last more than a few days. Dried raisins and peanuts always are easy and good. Banana and peanut butter...who does not love that? What I find most amazing is that they have grown up eating simple foods and generally good foods so that is what they crave.

Thought I would share since they are here and I was surprised to see just how good they really are even in the face of fast food options.

Cooking local..Big Crowd!

Okay this is a bit outside the norm. I am cooking for over 80 people right now for a Valentines Brunch spot lighting local and seasonal foods. This is hard. We cannot use things like pineapple and orange or banana...but I am working with reality. Apples, cranberries and lots of good cold crops..Now do not get me wrong, I have help! I have a wonderful local chef who is just terrific with food combinations and using local foods helping with some amazing veggie lasagna (2 of them) and I have help from the woman who cooks local community suppers. I also have a special lady who works with me daily and still volunteered to help. (she is brave) It is very interesting what you can do with what is grown. raised and produced locally. We have some great dishes going on and some fun ideas.

Some lovely vegetarian dishes, a potato soup (what is more Maine), some great Cattle beans, delicious fritatta (at least the trial run today) and some super potato and carrot home fries for breakfast. We are going to try an apple waldorf salad with yogurt and some yummie pickled beets. We will have a great day and I am excited after cooking all day today. I have to say never would I have attempted this a year ago but today I realize that this is all about having fun and staying local. I will update on our success. Very cool. By the way: GOT TO LOVE POTATOES!

I have been ignorant but a Farmer is teaching me.

This will be a blog to share stories about local eating and one woman's journey. Like many folks I never gave much thought to the foods. I purchased the weekly groceries enjoyed cooking (family style never with recipes) and ate what tasted "good". Keeping in mind my taste had been informed by chain foods, fast foods, fatty foods and salty. Still love salty!

I always had an awareness that I like fresh vegetables, love summer farm stands and fresh apples and an appreciation for good meats. But generally, I have been driven by my sense of economics and the media "brain training" I received. I thought I needed cheap, variety, quick fixes and certainly those "healthy" easy cook meal options. Now Being CLEAR,,,I still shop at my favorite chain store (begun in New England) and buy "good" deal items. I am feeding a family, the new American economically necessary family of nine. My family consists of adult children home to save money (with grandkids), elderly mother, step child, foster care adult, son who lives across town but cannot make it financially and of course husband. I need deals and I feed lots of people.

But in the last few years this farmer friend of mine, my own organization's unique move into working with local farms and food producers in Maine, and my own LIMITED research, has brought me to a new place and way of eating. This blog will track that journey. Complete with all the realities and honest misgivings and mis-steps. I am NO expert on organic, local foods, health and/or local economies. I am however learning more everyday and hope to spark conversations and ideas regarding eating local and "real" foods (my term). I believe it will be very helpful to me for reflection and learning to keep this blog and maybe a few other folks.

The biggest single lesson I would offer is to find a local farm or cooperative or collaborative and find out if they have a CSA, community supported agriculture, program. CSA shares was a total foreign idea to me three years ago. In my "regular person words" it is a weekly program where you pay the farm or collaborative to supply you with a bag of available local foods. In my year of doing this I would get things I never had tried before which has taught me volumes about foods. It is fun, like a little journey each week. It is not expensive: my share is about 35 dollars a week. My company allows all employees to buy CSA's through payroll deduction (makes it really easy-suggest you speak to your company about this) and I am getting great local foods to use for my family. That would be my first suggestion. It has been a great help to me. Good Luck.