Junk food gone local

With a fridge full of potatoes and zucchini the only thing I can think of to cook is chips and fried zucchini sticks. Either I have spent too much of my life eating pub appetizers or I am seriously craving some greasy snacks. 

Zucchini Sticks

5 Medium zucchinis

2 Eggs

¾ cup flour

1 tbsp salt

Butter or bacon grease

Mix the salt and flour in a flat plate. Beat the eggs together in a bowl. Dip the zucchini pieces into the egg then the flour mixture. 

Cooking option 1- Frying pan

On medium heat fry zucchini pieces in bacon grease for 5-6 minutes on each side or until soft.

Cooking option 2- Oven

Drizzle butter over the zucchini pieces and bake at 350 for 25 min. Turning midway through.

I prefer the baked pieces:)

Oven- baked Potatoes Chips

3 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup butter, melted
Sea salt, sprinkle

 

Put the potato slices into a bowl. Melt the butter and pour it over the potatoes. Stir- make sure the potatoes are coated with butter. Place them on a baking sheet and cook at 500°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Sprinkle them with the salt. 

Enjoy!

The Perfect Locavore Saturday

Ottawa has it all. Perfect running paths , bustling markets, peaceful parks, mosquitos that will eat you alive and hints of hope when you least expect it. 

Mornin' Geese

It starts with a 10km run along the canal. 

 

Then its off to the Westboro Farmers Market to pick up some  delicious local fare. 

 I never want to go to the grocery store again. 

Time to slow down at the park; soak up the sun, snack on fresh cherry tomatoes and settle into Atwood’s stimulating and stirring world. PS- Margaret Atwood is from Ottawa;) 

Then I'm off to the country for a good old fashion BBQ. When the sun goes down the mosquitoes come out. The 613 eater has become the eaten. Can I really be mad? They are eating locally.

Corner of Florence and Kent (or Lyon)

1 hour and several itchy spots later I'm back to the city for a quick glass of wine with friends and a sign of hope to guide me home.    

Apparently eating local, never frozen, small scale farm, hormone and antibiotic free beef still makes a vegetarian sick.

Ugh there is no stomach ache worse than the feeling of partially digested meat wrenching through your guts. I think I could actually feel the mass move through every inch of my small and large intestines. I guess it was worth it?? 

I have been a vegetarian for almost 3 years and I have not eaten beef for 4 years… until now.

Jessie the vegetarian – Ready for the rant? 

Elk Sausage BBQ dinner for 2.

People become vegetarians and vegans for many different reasons. Personally,  I enjoy meat and I don’t think there is anything wrong with eating meat as part of a balanced diet.  I am a vegetarian because I am boycotting the modern meat industry. Modern day factory farm keeps animals in filthy over-crowded feed lots. The animals are hormones drugs to fatten them up and antibiotics to keep them alive in  otherwise toxic environments.  When they have endured this existence long enough the animals are packed into a truck and deprived of food and water while being transported. Upon arrival at the slaughter house termination is crude and animals can still be alive when the processing begins. From an environmental perspective, eating a vegetarian diet is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are together responsible for the changes in the atmosphere associated with climate change. Raising animals for food is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide and the single largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide emissions.  

While researching this local food challenge I had to identify possible protein sources and consider setting my vegetarianism aside to eat (some) meat from small scale local farmers. Ultimately, I decided to eat meat. Working at the Ottawa Farmers Market I have met some amazing meat producers that love their animals, make sure they have a great safe life and respectfully do the dirty deed. I appreciate what they do and I want to support them. 

Also, I recently found out that the cashews and tofu I thought were local protein sources are actually only processed and packaged locally. Don’t get me wrong locally processed and packaged is pretty good.However, considering I can get local protein from other sources ie, meat, eggs, dairy, I will certainly use less of the tofu and cashews.   

Honestly, popcorn is a frequent dinner choice.

 

The recipe- Gut Wrenching Beef Stew.

1 pound stewing beef
a sprinkle or two sea salt
a few carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
a few potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
a few onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tomatoes
1/2 bottle red wine
few sprigs fresh rosemary- I used lots because I love rosemary
2 cobs of corn- corn cut off the cob.  

Brown the beef in a frying pan and set aside. In a pot add half of the vegetables—reserving the other half— salt, rosemary, water, naked corn cobs and wine. Let simmer for 50 min. Then let the mixture cool slightly and blend it in a food processor. Return the blended soup to the pot and add the remaining veggies and beef. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 15 minutes. In the last 10 minutes add the corn.  Enjoy.  

Sorry-I forgot to take a picture of the stew. My brother ate 2 bowlfuls so I promise it was super good!  

May or may not have eaten ½ a pan of apple crisp.

Ok my family did help me eat some of this.

After a few weeks of eating perfectly healthy- no treats, no processed foods- I was craving sugar and crashing pretty hard. It was a frenzy that could have snowballed into me eating a pound of gummy bears and  an entire bag of cheezies. Don’t fret, your ever cool and collected locavore channelled this frenzy into baking a local apple crisp and then shovelled it into her face.   

I had to bend a couple rules but I assure you it was the safer more local path.  The sugar in this recipe is from Scarbouough- approximately 380 km away. The cinnamon is a souvenir my parents brought home from a recent trip to the Dominican. It was local when they bought it and they were travelling home anyways.  

Oh and about that whole question of will I gain or lose weight—I’m thinking gain. 

Grandma Sadler’s Secret Family Best Ever Apple Crisp Recipe- with a locavore twist.  

6 cut up medium sized apples

2/3 cup sugar

½ cup fresh ground flour

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 ½ cup rolled oats

¾ cup sugar

½ cup melted butter

Butter the baking dish and preheat the oven to 375. Sprinkle the first amount of sugar on the cut apple. Mix the flour, oats, cinnamon and sugar. Add the melted butter and mix it until crumbly. Spread the crust on top of the apples and bake for 30min. Try not to eat the whole pan :)

A locavore tribute to John Cusack.

I love John Cusack.  I can only assume that being from Illinois- a state with vast prairies and lots of agriculture- he understands the importance of a local diet and would indeed support my challenge. And, to that end, probably ask me to marry him if we ever met.

It is also possible that I have just watched High Fidelity way too many times this month. 

For those who don’t know High Fidelity is a film from 2000 starring John Cusack. He plays a record store owner going through a breakup. I won’t spoil the ending- but I will recommend that if you have not seen this movie you should go watch it immediately! In the movie he makes all kinds of top 5 lists top 5 jobs, top 5 songs on a Monday morning, top 5 breakups, top 5 etc... You get the idea. 

Sometimes I get caught in moods where I watch the same movie 5 or 6 times over the course of a couple weeks. It usually coincides with big changes in my life or times when I am really emotional and stressed out. I find some sort of comfort and peace in the repetition and predictability of it. 

Inspired by repeated viewings- My top 5 locavore lists!

Top 5 things I like about being a locavore

1. I can now tell the difference between all these tomatoes. 
2. I have not stepped foot in a big grocery store. 
3. Writing this blog! 
4. The satisfaction of preparing and eating an inspired meal.
5. Corn. Cooked corn on the cob, raw corn on the cob, popcorn and corn chowder.

                                                               

Top 5 things I don’t really like about being a locavore

1. No convenient snack or fast food.  
2. Is gum a food?? Can I still chew gum? 
3. The frequent trips to the ladies room. 
4. Discovering that the cashews and tofu I thought were local are actually only processed locally. At least they are organic but none the less not as local as I initially believed.
5. Saying no to organic vegan chocolate cake 

 Here is the recipe for the Corn Chowder I made tonight. 

 

1 Tbsp butter
1 tbsp of bacon grease (or  butter for vegetarian option)
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped

1 clove of garlic
3 cobs of corn, cut the kernels off the cobs

3 1/2 cups milk

1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 small red bell pepper, chopped 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp herb seasoning 

 In a large pot, melt the butter and grease. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the carrot and celery and cook for 4 or 5 more minutes. Break the corn cobs in half and add them to the saucepan. Add the milk and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure the heat is as low as can be and still maintain a gentle simmer to prevent scalding the milk on the bottom of the pan. Discard the cobs. Raise the heat, add the potatoes, red pepper, salt, and herbs. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost fork tender. Raise the heat, add the corn kernels. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Enjoy.