This sandwich is largely symbolic.  As Lent comes to a close our family is happily anticipating Easter, when the time of giving things up will come to an end.  The roasted beets in this sandwich represent the blood shed by Christ on Good Friday, while the egg is the new life celebrated at Easter.  I know it’s a bit of stretch for a random sandwich to represent all that, but hey, it’s what I was thinking about while making it.

I’m not going to lie and say it was the best sandwich ever, but it was good, and very unique.  I’m still trying to think of what would be the best cheese to pair with the egg and beet.  In my first version today I used brie and mild cheddar.  The brie was good, but I think the mild cheddar was the wrong choice.  A much sharper cheddar would be ideal as it would better compliment the sweetness of the roasted beet.

Anyways, try your own Beetster Egg Sandwich and make your own adjustments!   I’m going to try making it again in a few days and try out different cheeses, so I’ll update this if need be.  Let me know if you try it what you think!

In the summer we love our homemade ice cream, and try to utilize as many local ingredients as possible.  I think the best all local ice cream was our Maple Walnut Ice Cream which was super delicious.  In the winter though we don’t crave ice cream nearly the way we do when we’re sweating and enjoying dinner on the back porch because the house is too hot (something I would gladly welcome right now!).  So in the winter I’ve taken to making custards.  They are so simple and their flavor is incredible.  When made well the creaminess of the custard is unlike any other dessert.

So of course I set about to tweak the classic baked custard recipe into an almost 100% local custard.  Maple syrup brings with it a wonderful flavor and easily replaces sugar in the recipe.  The custard seems to be flexible on how many eggs you use and is worth playing around with two or three times until you find a consistency that is just right for you.  Oh and for those of you looking for simple, the ingredients are eggs, milk, cream (optional), maple syrup, and vanilla.  If you’re a true 100-miler you could easily omit the vanilla.  Hey, at least we bought it in Mexico, where it was local….

I shared the recipe on Bailey’s Local Foods site so go check it out and make yourself a truly local dessert that is perfect for this time of year!

“No worries,”  I thought, ”I’ll just make dutch babies.”  Alas, no all-purpose flour, and they just aren’t good with 100% whole wheat.

“Okay, so what then?”  Then I saw the jar of grits from Georgia.  Yes, from Georgia, where we lived more than 10 months ago.   And then the idea of polenta floated into my head.

So I decided I could make polenta with those grits.  Polenta is so easy and delicious, and topped with a simple sauce it tastes wonderful.  I decided to make a sofrito, which is like a cooked salsa, and added an egg, sunny-side-up, on top.  Very quickly I had a simple, delicious meal, made without much prep or cooking time.  I had forgotten how much I love the creamy taste of polenta and we all finished off everything in no time, leaving us without leftovers (which was sad because we all wanted more!).

These eggs are from “Silky” hens, from the same farm where we got our apples pressed into juice.  They were definitely free range, seeing as the chickens were wandering about all over the place!  Can you spot the double yolker?

Polenta

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1-2 Tbs. oil or butter
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup polenta (or coarse grits)
• 1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
• (a few spoonfuls of milk)

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and add the onion.  Fry for 2-3 minutes then add the water and bring to a boil. Add the polenta and lower the heat to a simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the polenta is soft and the water is all absorbed or evaporated. Add a bit of milk if you like along with the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper.

Sofrito

• 1 small onion, diced
  
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1-2 Tbs. oil
• 1-2 sweet peppers, diced
• (1 jalepeño, diced)
• 4-10 tomatoes, diced (the number depends on the size of the tomatoes and how tomato-y you like it)
• dash of ground cumin

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic.  Saute for 2-3 minutes then add the peppers and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes more.  Add the tomatoes and cumin, and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes , stirring occasionally until it begins to turn into a thick, chunky sauce.

Fried Egg

• 1-2 eggs per person
• oil
• salt and pepper

Heat oil in a cast iron pan and when hot crack the egg into the pan and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper.  If it’s a large pan add multiple eggs.  For soft, runny yokes do not break the yoke or flip the egg.  For a slightly runny yoke flip the egg after the egg white has mostly solidified and cook briefly on the other side.

Finished Product

Taking the three parts above start with a base of polenta, spoon on the sofrito, and top with the egg.  Finish your plate quickly to get seconds before everyone else….

Last week my assistants and I bought a good amount (10 pounds) of asparagus from a local asparagus grower.  We also loaded up on other asparagus products (tea, salsa, tortilla chips, asparagus powder, etc.).  Initially the plan was to can the asparagus but after quite a bit of reading—we started with Putting Food By and worked our way through the internet afterwards—we decided it would be best just to freeze it.  We considered pickling but remembered that we don’t really seem to like pickles that much and tend to not eat them when we do pickle things!  Don’t let that stop you from pickling them, and if you decide to here’s a good set of instructions that I intend to use the day I change my mind.  Anyways, here’s what Madame and I did, after listening to the asparagus:

(After the asparagus has frozen on the baking sheets place it in freezer bags, the pre-freeze on the sheets helps keep the wet veggies from sticking together in one big lump in the bags).

Finally with some of the asparagus we didn’t freeze we had some simple asparagus and fried egg sandwiches!  They were very good and easy to make.  The sunny side up eggs gave a wonderful creaminess to the sandwich, almost like a hollandaise sauce, but without all the work and absurd amounts of butter needed to make that amazing sauce.

Asparagus and Fried Egg Sammich

Inspired by Well Preserved

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of lightly toasted bread (we used the flax walnut raisin from Golden Hearth)
• 4 eggs, fried sunny side up, or to your liking
• 8-10 asparagus stalks
• Salt and pepper

Steam the asparagus until just tender.  Meanwhile fry the eggs (one or two at a time).  To get a nice runny yoke put a lid over the pan and don’t flip the egg.  Remove each egg when the white has completely solidified.  Place egg on top of the bread.  Briefly fry the steamed asparagus with a small amount of oil or butter over high heat (about 2-3 minutes).  Top the egg with 2-3 stalks of asparagus, salt and pepper and serve.

Linking up:

My contribution was a meal consisting of Parmesan Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Couscous Salad and fresh bread (or toast).

• Spinach (1/4lb)
• Kale (1/4lb)
• Pea shoots
• Potatoes
• Asparagus
• Carrots

(left from previous shopping)

• Mushrooms
• Sweet potatoes
• Parsnips
• 8 eggs

(in Garden)

• Lots of greens – mustard, lettuce, spinach, kale

The meal plan is as follows (note that we will be gone this weekend):

Jon asked what was growing right now in the Northwest where his Dad and I live, and if I might want to share about that.  Most things are just beginning to sprout–outside and in–but the first vegetable harbinger of spring is determinedly and gloriously pushing up from the dirt.  ASPARAGUS!!

We are still in the rapturous phase and are eagerly finding our old favorite recipes.  (In another few weeks, we will no doubt be reduced to making and freezing asparagus soup just to use it up.  The soup really is, however, a taste of early spring when you thaw it in late spring or early summer.)  Note: my husband planted a section of purple passion variety two years ago and so we are just getting a few slender stalks as seen in the picture.

Tonight’s recipe came from Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert.  It is basically what we have always called Dutch Babies but with added veggies and cheese.  The recipe can be easily found on the internet (search “Simply in Season Vegetable Oven Pancake), and it’s quite easy!  I made it with steamed asparagus cut in 1 inch pieces, a few sliced mushrooms which were leftover in the crisper, and some cut-up baby peppers.  I sprinkled the top with fresh-from-the-herb-bed chopped thyme and some white cheddar cheese to finish it off.  (You will have surmised that I, unlike the Kitchener, am not abiding by the “local only” dictum.)  We just love eating from our own garden when able.  Next time, however, I’ll add some cut up scallions, more fresh herbs, and use parmesan instead of the heavier white cheddar.

If I get another guest spot, I’ll blog about the other early spring delight–RHUBARB!  What do you say, Kitchener?

Sandra Spee is the Kitchener’s mom, his Young Assistants’ Oma, and a great cook!  She has cooked real food for as long as the Kitchener can remember and always makes use of whatever is growing in the huge garden that she and her husband/Opa have next to their home.  She lives in Olympia, WA and prefers sunny weather.  

Spring?  Maybe it has arrived.  We feel it a little bit more each day.  In terms of planning our menu for the week  Cinco de Mayo should be an obvious meal choice (if it’s not obvious, it’s going to Mexican!).  However, I will still do my best to utilize local ingredients, which actually should be pretty easy, other than avocados, lime, and tequila….    Other than that this week is a little bit difficult to plan for.  One problem is that some of our favorite winter storage vegetables (namely the leeks) have been disappearing from the market the last few weeks.  That would be okay if it were accompanied by the arrival of Spring vegetables… but it hasn’t been!  We’ve been waiting for an abundance of Spring greens but since they haven’t really arrived we have been somewhat unsure what to plan!  So, this week’s plans for now are going to include things that we can plan on—cabbage and root vegetables like potatoes and beets!  Oh, one more thing, the Beet and Red Cabbage Salad from last week’s menu turned out great!

Desserts – I don’t plan desserts, they are just whatever sweet treat we have made recently, but these Chocolate Diablo Cookies from Chatelaine Magazine are amazing!

Taking a break from meal planning…

Also, an apology:  last week we didn’t get to two of our meals… so we are eating them this week (which means that two days in this menu are identical to last week’s)!  On Wednesday we didn’t make the planned meal because I didn’t feel like cooking… that was the day I ended up baking with My Assistant all day (yes, I realize this was ironic).  Thursday I had a disaster (which I will write about in a day or two)….    And I’d love to hear from you if you’re trying any of these dishes, or what local foods you’ve been enjoying lately!   Share a link to a recipe that’s local for you below!  Try to think of what you could do for 100 Mile Monday this week….

Ok, the plan for the week:

The Kale Slaw made a great addition to this meal and was very easy to make.  Our recipe is inspired by one from Farmburger in Atlanta.  We never did ask them how they made theirs, but we like ours lots!

Finally, finish out the meal with some fresh-baked bread and a side of hummus if you like.  I’ve been baking 100% whole grain breads lately, with lots of help from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads which is a wonderful book.  It’s easy to make a 100% local bread with his recipes too which I’ve been very happy about (well, I guess it’s more like 98% local since the yeast and salt are not local… accept for the sourdoughs).

Mushroom-Leek Frittata

• 1 Tb. oil
• 3-4 leeks, chopped
• ½ lb. mushrooms, sliced
• 5-6 eggs, whisked with a splash of milk
• ½ c. cheese, shredded
• Pepper

Begin by heating the oil and frying the chopped leeks and sliced mushrooms in a cast iron pan for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix the eggs, splash of milk, ground pepper, and shredded cheese.

When the leeks and mushrooms seem to have softened, add  the egg and milk mixture and cover the pan with a lid.  Let the frittata cook until it has set, or firmed up.

Then transfer it to the oven and broil it until it is nicely golden.  Serve as soon as you like the color!  (I enjoyed topping my leftovers the next day with a good spicy salsa, but that’s just me).

Kale Slaw

• 5-10 medium kale leaves, chopped
• 1 carrot, shredded
• ¼ c. cranberries (these aren’t local but at least are from Ontario!!)  
• ¼ c. (candied) pecans/walnuts/almonds or sunflower seeds (optional)

• 2 Tb. olive oil
• 1 Tb. balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tb. mayonnaise (this is what holds everything together – an emulsifier)
• 1 Tb. lemon juice
• 1 Tb. honey
• Salt and Pepper

Begin by preparing a steamer—I use a bamboo steamer set over a frying pan with a half-inch of water in it.  Heat over medium heat.  Chop the kale into ribbons, about 2 inches long and ½ inch wide.  Steam them for about 5 minutes, long enough for them to turn a wonderful green color and soften without becoming limp and dead looking.  If your kale is really young and you like the taste fresh then you can do without steaming, I use an early Red Russian Kale from my garden this way.  While steaming the kale, shred the carrots.  If you like to sweeten this dish which I sometimes do then candy the nuts.  To do this add the nuts to a frying pan with 1 Tb. butter, 1 Tb. sugar (or honey, but it makes it stickier), a splash of water, and a dash of salt.  Fry, stirring occasionally, until the nuts darken.  It’s a fine line between getting them crispy and burning them so this takes a few tries maybe to get it just the way you like. 

Mix the kale and carrots together and toss with the dressing, reserving some if you like your salad a bit lighter.  Top with the cranberries and nuts or sunflower seeds (which in the version pictured I didn’t do).

100% Whole Wheat Bread

And the bread…. Well, long story short, I would recommend getting Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads.  But in the meantime you could also just try this recipe from the book.  On that blog the bread is cooked in a bread loaf pan while mine is baked more free-form.  Either way, it’s the same recipe with different shapes.

*Update: You can also try our 2:2:2 simple whole grain bread recipe or our go-to sourdough recipe.