The holidays were a time of celebration and family for most of us. They were also a time of challenging weather and access to our normal local food sources. We all made adjustments not only to our planned menus but also to our sources and often made do with what was already in our pantries, gardens, freezers and fridges.
Around here we made use of what we had in the freezer, pantry and frozen garden to make beef, bean and barley soup. Mike had specifically requested beef and barley soup (I added the beans as they were already soaking on the counter) and afterwards he declared it “the best ever”. I think it was even better reheated tonight and I can’t wait to have it for lunch tomorrow at work!
I hope everyone had a good holiday, whichever you celebrate (or don’t) and that we all have better weather in the coming week.
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Canada:
Finding herself snowed in for most of the week, LateBloomer made do with what was already in the house and on the back porch. Her breakfast casserole of sausage, potatoes and eggs looks delicious. And her ability to “go with the flow” for french onion soup and a chopped cabbage salad was impressive as well.
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Midwest:
Anne’s dinner may have been spur of the moment, but it sure sounds great. She braised duck legs with red wine, raisins and dried cranberries and herbes de provence. On the side was potatoes roasted in duck fat (yum!), roasted Brussels sprouts and carnivale squash. Hope your thumb is feeling better Anne!
After a visit to the Des Moines indoor farmer’s market, Karen and her family ate like kings! Not only did they find winter staples like apples, cheeses and grains, they found fresh spinach. She combined their finds into a dinner of tortellini with rosemary tomato sauce and feta, garlic bread, spinach salad and not one, but two, pies for dessert - cherry and pumpkin. I’m pretty sure Karen did better than I did on salad greens this week and she lives in Iowa!
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South:
When she wasn’t busy with Hippo, Laurel was making both savory and sweet kabobs. The savory version included eggplant, potatoes, zucchini, red onion and red velvet okra all brushed with garlic infused grapeseed oil. They jumped on the plate with a hearty green salad and a bit of muhammara. The sweet version featured butternut squash and apples brushed with a flarorful sauce and served with vanilla yogurt for dipping. Yum!
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West:
Finding herself essentially confined to the top of Queen Anne hill, Kimberly still managed to find most of what she needed for her planned Christmas dinner. They ventured down to the frozen U District market, raided the local foods store and even found a couple of things at the big grocery store. In the end dinner was roasted pork loin with spiced cranberry sauce, Brussels sprouts, potato leek and mushroom gratin. A meal after my own heart!
Using the last bit of last year’s lamb, Maya hosted a Christmas dinner of roasted leg of lamb, glazed baby carrots and parsnips, sauteed kale and spinach, roasted Jerusalem artichokes, garlic rosemary mashed potatoes and two desserts topped with maple whipped cream. Mmmm. She was braver than I, venturing out to the U District farmer’s markets in temperatures near 0 to source some of her produce!
Einat finally has a baby to hold “after 36 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, a C-section, and 3 more days in the hospital”! Congratulations Einat and J! Not only are they figuring out new parenthood, they’re redefining what the Dark Days Challenge means to them. No harm in that - I think sleep and a happy baby are likely more important than where your produce comes from 
Snowed in and forced to make a new plan for their holiday feast, Denise still comes up with a delicious meal. Slow roasted beef served with balsamic glazed carrots, chard and leek hortopita, creamed peas with pearl onions and popovers followed up by Renee’s lady finger trifle. As if that wasn’t enough she whipped up some German pancakes and fruit salad for breakfast along with inventing a new Bellini like cocktail!
“Start with Oregon-grown chard, scallions, small red potatoes, sweet red pepper and garlic.” Any post that starts out that way is going to be good and Joan’s instructions and recipe for Christmas morning frittata don’t disappoint. Yum!
When an unexpected stop in San Francisco let her pick up some Rancho Gordo dry beans and cookbook (LOVE that book, we cook from it weekly), Amy decided to make pot beans this week. She adapted the recipe slightly to fit their needs and served them with carnitas and a green salad. So jealous of your new stash Amy!
While Bethany’s empanadas might not have been completely local, they sure do sound good. Inside the cornmeal flour crust was a mix of black beans, butternut squash and jalapenos. I might have to give this a try!
In London for the holidays, Anita and Cameron found themselves this week feasting with the “prince of the locavores”. Chef Oliver Rowe’s Konstam at the Prince Albert holds a special place in the UK locavore movement and earned it in the public eye. But what about the food? Apparently it’s every bit as good as advertised - check out her post for the details as she’s far more eloquent than my paraphrasing could be.
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The East:
Nicole found herself with plenty of time, and some of the energy, to cook this week. Three of her meals were local. The first two featured local black eyed peas; black-eyed pea and potato curry and mushroom and black eyed pea ragu. The third was a deceptively easy dinner of slow-roasted leg of lamb with rosemary, garlic and fingerling potatoes with a bit of broccoli.
Sophie’s local meal this week was a simple, yet delicious sounding meal of veal chops, pan fried potatoes and steamed broccoli. Not to mention the undercelebrated local oatmeal drizzled with honey and raw milk that she had for breakfast.
With a lot of local meals to choose from, Mangochild highlighted her potato leek soup over the butternut squash, apple and red onion bake. She served it with a bit of homemade rye bread. She’s also looking for insight into goats milk - anyone here a fan?
No, that’s not a picture of a meal, but how could I resist a lab puppy doing the back sleeping thing! Kim took time from spoiling Riley rotten to make a fabulous corn chowder and cream biscuits. But back to the puppy, isn’t he cute?!? Almost makes me willing to go through it all again. Almost.
Continuing the potato leek soup love, Peg made a version from her treasured City Tavern Cookbook. Check out her post for the recipe. Next time I get a craving for potato leek soup how will I ever decide which version to make?
Jenn made her own vegan pasta, no really! Her post made me laugh as she went through exactly how simple it is and I realized that I really am a lazy schmuck for never being willing to make my own. Plus I’m throughly impressed at how pretty her’s is!
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