Chicken by any other name

Last night I sucsessfuly roasted my first whole chicken. Turned out well, but then I had to figure out how to cut it up. I don't think it was a textbook carving job but my friends Jean and Joe were able to have a good meal with me. The whole time I was preparing and roasting the chicken I was talking to it. (strange I know) I may have given it a complex though because I kept referring to it as a turkey.

We had the roast CHICKEN, corn, and potato wedges. Peaches a la Jean (served with toothpicks) for dessert. Check out the photos from the night:

Hot Kitchen

I made a stew with crowder peas, okra, tomatoes, squash, zucchini. ground pork, and onions.

I've been having boiled eggs and either canteloupe (the sweetest one I've ever had) or a peach for breakfast.

I made dinner for my friend Katie last night. We had Port Cutlets with onion, tomato and okra saute and a side of roasted eggplant, carrot and onions. She brought over a cucumber and tomato salad from her very own garden! It was a great meal. I had the leftovers for lunch today.

Tonight I am going to cook chicken, roasted potato wedges and maybe some corn dish for my friends Jean and Joe. Photos to follow!

Unforseen Challenges

I knew that eating only local food would be a challenge, but what I neglected to think about was all the other challenges that go along with it. (1) Menu Planning- I pretty much have never made a week-long menu before. Deciding what works well as leftovers, the whole cook once use twice rules etc. (2) Cooking every meal. This is huge! I've already cooked a meal at 9:30pm at night because I couldn't pick something up from a restaurant. (3) Wanting to eat the food you cook can be hard sometimes. It doesn't really allow for cravings or last minute food decisions. I also have had one occasion when I looked at my plate and ate a couple of bites and then put it in the fridge for lunch the next day because I was just so tried of looking at it. (4) I also am learning to cook some things for the very first time like eggplant, a whole chicken, and fresh crowder peas. (see picture below)
I promised some photos and not all this rambling so here we go:

I cooked some brats in a skillet and then used the drippings from cooking the brats and sauteed okra, tomatoes, onions, and squash. It was delicious. I've also made some ground pork, tomatoe and pimento cheese "sandwiches" minus the bread of course.

I plan to cook the whole chicken, make my own chicken stock to make veggie stew with, and make some Italian sausage/ground beef meatballs or meat filling for some bell peppers I have. I'm also planning on making a peach chutney to go with some thyme pork cutlets with roasted potato wedges.

More soon...

First Days of Locavore

Here is a brief listing of the purchases I made Saturday. I'll have photos soon.

• Eggplant
• Squash
• Zucchini
  
• Corn
• Potatoes
• Onions
• Peaches
• Cantaloupe
  
• Yellow Pepper
• Red Pepper
• Okra
• Cucumber
• Tomatoes

More Soon!

Native Meats

I just pre-ordered the meat for my week of eating only local food. I purchased the meat from a local farm in Greer, Native Meats. They come to the Farmers' Market each week.

I purchased the following items:

• 1 Whole Chicken
• Ground Pork
• Ground Beef
• Pork Cutlets
• Italian Sausage
• Bartwurst

I was hoping to get some eggs from them but they won't have any at the market. I hope to get them from another vendor on Saturday.

Locavore

The coffee company were I work (Little River Roasting Company) has been setting up a stand at the local market (Hub-City Farmers' Market) for the past few Saturdays. Being around the farmers with all their fresh produce got me thinking about how food is grown, and how much we depend on farmers to weed, harvest, care for and labor over their crops, all so we can eat. I admit that I have been an uneducated shopper until the market. I knew that bananas weren't grown in South Carolina and that most of the produce I was buying at the local grocery store had traveled a good distance, but I never really thought about buying local produce and meat.

Now, thanks to the Farmers' Market I have been purchasing some local items to supplement my grocery shopping and while that works well, I was thinking the other day what it would be like if I restricted my weekly grocery shopping to the Saturday Market.

All that background information to lay down my week-long plan of attack:
This Saturday at the Market I will purchase all the items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week. I hope to be able to get meat, vegetables, fruit, and eggs. I have crafted a list of things to purchase with hopes that they will be available. After I collect my ingredients I will make a menu plan.

Here are the ground rules that I am giving myself for the project:

1. I can only purchase items at the Hub-City Farmers' Market this Saturday
2. I will only used the items I purchase to make myself breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the week.*
3. I will not go out to eat, or go to a friends house to eat during the week.
4. I will have friends over to eat with me.
5. I will drink only water, coffee, and RJ Rockers Beer for the week. A local brewery. (thanks for the suggestion Joe)
   
6. *I will use salt, pepper, and olive oil from my pantry, but nothing else.
7. I will keep a record of the meals I prepare and post the "recipes" here.

More after the market on Saturday!