Localvore to a....

Well, I can't say T, but I'm pretty close. I've been even more local than I was in Austin, which is quite shocking, considering all ATX has to offer. (Confession: I spent a lot of time at Whole Foods and Central Market.) But here in North Carolina, I live off of food stands, the garden, and almost all organic staples on a budget no less.
Now I can't say that I've stuck to the budget always. It is really hard when you read Tastespotting and food magazines all the time because most of the stuff isn't local to my area. For example, I haven't bought an avocado in months because they are expensive due to "surging" gas prices. Maybe with this lower gas prices, food prices will go back down with it.
But even if prices do go down, I don't think I'll buy things that have made the trek from South America here. I just can't bring myself to buy those things anymore. Yes, I love asparagus in the winter, but a) it doesn't taste the same and b) I just made a huge carbon footprint. I'm not trying to rant or lecture, just opinionating.
And trust me it is really hard for me to stick to this whole localvore thing come winter. I can only eat cabbage so much. However, this year, I have learned the art of canning, pickling and freezing. Oh and what wonders have they brought me.
I now know how to can tomatoes (not as difficult as it seems), make pickles, and freeze squash. I am becoming Miss Martha Stewart almost. Never in my years would I imagine doing the things I've learned this summer, but it just makes me realize how easy things are to store for later. Yes, its not easy, but invite friends, make a party and can or freeze. Trust me come winter, I'll be having my canned tomatoes in my tomato sauce. Oh and my salsa!
I made and canned tomato salsa! Which is a feat in itself! It taste sooo good and it's spicy. Only one habenero, but my god does it leave the tingly sensation in your mouth. Next on my list is canning barbecue sauce made with garden grown tomatoes! Yum!

Spicy Salsa
1-1.5 pounds of tomatoes
1 habenero
1/2 medium onion
1 medium to large anaheim pepper
2 garlic cloves
salt, pepper, cumin

Blend vegetables together or chop for chunky salsa. Reduce for a hour on the stove to heat it up. Pour into sterilized jar and place in waterbath for 15-20 minutes. Make sure that you hear the pop, which means the jar is sealed. If it is not sealed pour salsa back into sauce pan, sterilize another jar and lid, place in water bath once again.
Seems so hard, but it is super simple!

Happy like a clam.....

As big of a food snob as I am, (this is my new name at work), I haven't been culinarily adventurous in my life. I haven't had true lobster, brussel sprout, oysters, uni, beet, and many other foods that never crossed the table. Why?
One most of my family doesn't like seafood, which is sad because they are missing out, but that means more for little old me!
Two, I don't know if my parents even like most of them, and I wasn't a kid who would go out of there way to try a new food until college. So... that means I have a lot of making up to do.
Of course, I began this catch up maybe a year or two ago, but I'm still behind. I only just tried mussels for the first time a month ago, and now I can scratch clams of my list.
Oh, I'll admit, I had this once before in Alabama with the ex, but they were on his plate not mine. So I'm not counting that. You can if you wish, but I'm not.
Clams aren't that hard to find in N.C. most seafood markets I visit have them that was the easy part. And I knew that clams in a white wine sauce was popular, so at least I had an idea of a cooking method.
On Saturday, I traveled north to Virginia Beach to go to the Old Beach Farmer's Market. The market is off of Cypress right as 264 turns into a road. It has 9 vendors, all local and I believe all organic. I felt like I was back in Austin. It was small, but had that vibe. I can't describe it well, but I hope you know what I'm talkin' about.
And to my surprise they had clams. The clams were came in 25/50/100. I chose the 25 and paid the vendor. No going back, I had them. I spent the money. It was a sink or swim now.
Of course I didn't go straight home. I made trip to Trader Joe's, the bookstore, and Macy's. I had to get my coffee grinder, o.k.? At each stop, I think to myself, I'm going to kill my clams. By the time I got home 5 hours later, I had a sinking feeling they were dead.
But I wouldn't know until I cooked them. So I found a recipe, opened a bottle of wine and followed the instructions. Five minutes of steaming and some mouths were open, but not all.
My stomach sunk. I killed the clams. I wouldn't be having dinner. I would starve. So I opened my Joy of Cooking to find that they can be steamed for 5-10 mins. So, I reheated them and sure enough a couple of minutes later they were all open.
I hadn't killed them in the car, which was a relief. Plus, they didn't scream in the pot. I liked them enough, but am a bigger fan of mussels. Not to say that I won't cook them, again. Because next time they will have a shorter joy ride.

Clams with garlic and roasted tomatoes
(adapted from Heart of New England)

24 littleneck clams
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup roasted tomatoes
½ cup dry white wine, such a Sauvignon Blanc
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried oregano or marjoram
Freshly ground black pepper

Place clams into a strainer and shake under running water to remove loose shell debris.

Heat a large sauté or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, oregano, and garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic starts to color. Add wine and bring to a boil, then add clams and tomatoes. Raise heat to high, cover pan and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until clams are opened (5-10 minutes). Discard unopened clams.

Serve immediately with the sauce. A salad and crusty bread for the sauce completes the meal.

A snap and a crunch

When the vegetables started to pile up on my counter last week, I knew I had a problem. There were and still are 4 squash, which has turned into 10; 4 peppers, magically now 9;
5 cucumbers, now 2.
Now I know what you are asking? Where did the cucumbers go?
Well, I decided to do some pickling. Yes, I know, me with all my "oh my god, the kitchen is going to explode" episodes, decided that she would pickle. And no there was no damage to myself or my kitchen.
Actually, I thought about pickling two years ago, when I was a vegetarian. My mom actually sent me my great grandmother's recipe. However, the procrastinating college student, I was never got around to it, and eventually had to throw the cucumbers out. I know it was a waste of food, but I had yet to realize my food impact.
So last week, when I had the abundance of cucumbers, I decided to give Homesick Texan's pickle recipe a go. It sounded easy enough. There was no boiling of ingredients, just the sterilization of the jars, which I've done before. And in 4-6 days I'd have pickles. So I gathered ingredients, sterilized the jars, which splattered water all over my stove. I then mixed the brine added the cucumbers and placed them in the fridge. There they sat for 5 days, haunting me.
Of course, I shook them everyday and everyday was tempted to steal one, but I waited. And then today I broke and opened one of the jars. And when I bit into that first pickle spear, I died a little. That is because the pickle was so good. It had that right acidic bite and it was still firm. I had one than another than another. Finally, I just put them away before I ate them all.
Now I know the difference between the store bought pickle and homemade ones. Today when I opened up one of the jars of pickles and took a long spear out, put it between in my teeth, I felt the snap and heard the crunch. Before I even tasted it, I knew it was a great pickle because of the crispness of it. Sure you can get that from store bought, but you taste the dill more in homemade and you miss out on it being truly something you had created. The store bought ones just take away all the fun. So this is added to my list of recipes. Now what to do with the rest of the vegetables?

Refrigerator dill pickles
(from Homesick Texan)
Ingredients:
6 Kirby cucumbers, cleaned, stemmed and halved, lengthwise
1/2 cup of white vinegar
2 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon of black peppercorns
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of fresh dill

Method:
Place salt, peppercorns, coriander seeds, garlic and dill in a sterilized 1-quart Mason jar.
Layer sliced cucumbers in jar, leaving 1/2 inch at the top.
Pour in vinegar.
Fill jar with water, seal with lid and shake for about a minute.
Refrigerate for six days, shaking daily.

Makes 1-quart jar of dill pickles. This simple recipe, however, can easily be multiplied.

Note: I divided the recipe in have for 1/2 pint jars. They are a little sour, but that is the way I like them.