I’m excited by what everyone in Group 1 is already making – so great to be off to such a strong start! Mike and I enjoyed a couple of simple meals using meats from our freezer, potatoes from the garden and an assortment of local veggies. Keep reading to see what everyone else made!
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Nicole (Being, Not Doing) used up the last of her fresh peppers making a lunch of scrambled eggs with roasted Cubanelle pepper purée, roasted potatoes and home made applesauce. Next, she cooked beef for the first time ever in her home, choosing her second Dark Days meal as the occasion to try her hand at a delicious French style beef stew with roasted potatoes. So, was it even better the next day?
Jennifer’s (Fast Cheap and Good) first meal was one of sage noodle soup using homemade noodles. Her second meal, veggie pizza, utilized homegrown veggies as well as a selection of responsibly produced ingredients. Jennifer – I agree, not many things are harder to photograph than soup!
Over at My Suburban Homestead, Amy’s first meal was one of potato, leek and kale gratin with gruyere. Her second meal was bacon, kale, and mashed potatoes flavored with pecorino, garlic, parsley, bacon drippings. She also posted tutorials for frying eggs and roasting sweet potatoes!
Camille (Tracing Terroir) made a backyard-herb frittata and a pumpkin pie smoothie for her first meal – the smoothie sounds intriguing! Her second meal featured a take-off on hashbrowns made with local rutabaga and Jerusalem artichoke. Hmmm, I wonder if you could make a riff on latkes in a similar fashion?
Aiming to include at least one homegrown ingredient in every meal, Arlene (Just Another Day on the Farm) is off to a rolicking start with her first two meals. Meal #1 was a stew made with their own lamb and tomatoes, the finished the meal with a dessert of crabapple/apple sauce. A breakfast of dippy eggs, beef breakfast sausage, roasted potatoes and mint tea was meal #2. Their third meal was homemade butternut squash pasta with a lamb tomato sauce.
Andrea’s (Wintergreen Farm) first meal used up the last of the Thanksgiving bird in a hutterite bean, sage, turkey soup (I grew hutterites last year – one of my favs!) to chase her cold away. Her second meal was really intended to be her first, but said cold interfered. The meal was one of homegrown roast duck with chokeberry barbeque sauce with veggies roasted in duck fat. Oh wow.
With a focus on vegan meals in her slow cooker, Kathy (Healthy Slow Cooking) made October beans with tomatoes, greens and herbs for her first meal. For her second meal she made pasta for the first time – it came out a bit dumpling like, but was still delicious topped with the last of the homegrown fresh tomatoes and sauteed veggies.
Heather (Heather’s Homemaking) celebrated the first night of Hannukah with a meal of brisket, homegrown latkes, applesauce and roasted veggies. Her second meal was kid friendly and included burgers topped with local blue cheese, home fries, homegrown snap peas and homemade bread and butter pickles.
Duck made an appearance in April’s (Sophisticated Palette) kitchen as well – her first meal was duck breast with apples, roasted sunchokes and cauliflower, and a local pale ale. For her second meal she went all out with oysters on the half shell, steak with her fantastic (really, I know) spiced tomato jam, roasted fingerling potatoes, and eggnog ice cream.
Jennelle (Delicious Potager) made bar food for her first meal – five spice asian chicken wings and potato skins filled with bacon, red onion, sour cream, cilantro and either cheddar or goat cheese. Their second meal was grilled New York strip steaks and grilled potatoes topped with local goat cheese.
Finding the challenge to be harder than he expected, Brian (MagnumGourmet) made a first meal of cauliflower apple soup and baked chicken with a Washington Viognier. His second meal was made for a brunch with friends and included an escarole and apple salad, chicken, sausage and mushroom pot pie, roasted root vegetables and pear cobbler. Brian, I promise, it does get easier!
Rose’s (Keeping up with K) first meal was one of beet and potato hash with sage, onion and poached eggs. Her second meal was an assortment of smoothies made with fruit she froze last summer as well as local yogurt and apple cider.
