Meat on the side

I am vegan, but my husband and most of my friends are not so I am including one meat dish for them! Of course it is locally grown.  Our friends that grew the garden actually hunted the elk.
These are yellow potatoes scalloped, tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper and herbs. Bake at 400º for 20 minutes turned over and baked for 10 to 15 minutes more.
The elk are grilled with salt and pepper seasoning placed on gluten free bread.

Backyard Salad

You get the most nutrients from raw foods. Raw salads from fresh picked greens provides vitamins, minerals, Chlorophyll, calcium, antioxidants and phytonutrients. If you do cook a vegetable, steaming will allow the least amount of vitamin loss.
This super powered garden salad includes snap peas, Romaine lettuce, scallions, broccoli and sweet garden carrots, my favorite!

Down and Dirty

Purchasing produce from the market is great, but I prefer getting in the dirt, cultivating and selecting the perfect stems of kale, Swiss chard, stalks of carrots, broccoli and snap peas myself. There is something gratifying and meditative about creating a salad from food grown just feet away. Talk about a small carbon footprint!

Sweet Tart Berry and Rhubarb Pies

Strawberry Rhubarb and Raspberry Rhubarb pie

First records of Rhubarb date back to 2700 BC in China but was not sold in U.S. markets until 1822 in Maine. When buying Rhubarb choose fresh crisp stalks, and peel off any stringy covering before use. Stand the stalks in cold water for an hour or so to refresh them before cooking. The stalks can be stored for 2-4 weeks at 32­ F.

I like to cut stalks into 1/2 inch pieces and freeze until I bake pies for Thanksgiving.
The rhubarb were picked fresh from a friend's farm on my road trip in Washington State. The berries from a stop in British Columbia.

The strawberry rhubarb was more sweet than the raspberry rhubarb. Raspberries are surprisingly tart, as is rhubarb. Both were delicious.

Robust Rhubarb!

Fresh cut rhubarb at our campsite amongst the local Douglas fir trees.

On our road trip across the northwest my family and I stopped in Bellingham, WA at the home of two glass blowing artists. They had a hot shop and studio on their property. Another gem in their backyard was a beautiful lush garden of flowers and vegetables. They generously sent us on our way with fresh rhubarb, chard, zucchini and kale. Strawberry rhubarb pie is scrumptous. Other plans include sautéing in a little agave syrup and mixing it in with homemade vanilla yogurt as well as making strawberry rhubarb muffins. Blueberries will be on the menu soon!

Quinoa pasta with heirloom tomotoes and roasted pumpkin seeds

For those who are gluten free try a quinoa pasta. It cooks more firm than rice pasta. This dish includes quinoa penne pasta mixed with heirloom tomatoes from a local garden, doused with local olive oil and homemade roasted organic pumpkin seeds sprinkled with sea salt. The tomatoes offer a slight sweet contrast to the sea salted seeds.

Kale Chips

Fresh farm kale bought in Buena Vista, CO.
Coated in seasoned cashew cream and baked at 350ºF until crisp (approx. 20 minutes) flip chips after 10 minutes. A hearty calcium and protein packed snack.
They are not much to look at, but they are yummy. Store in airtight container and kale chips will last a couple weeks.

Hearty veggie salad

You may see a lot of veggie dishes as I love me some fresh veggies because I try my best to live a vegan lifestyle. My boys are meat eaters so you may see some local meat dishes in the future.
This dish is from foods bought at a market in Buena Vista, CO. The daikon, radishes and turnips all came with their green stalks attached. Included are red radishes, diakon (in the radish family), turnips, kale leaves, Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, and slivered organic almonds. Dressing is a splash of lemon juice, olive oil, pinch of salt and Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar.
Guesstimate amounts as desired.

Fresh Field Greens with Quinoa

Locally grown field greens with cherry tomatoes, red onion and avacado drizzled with a light olive oil and balsamic dressing and sprinkled with sea salt and pepper.
Today's dish includes vegetables from a farm outside Paonia, CO.

Local Food Revolution!

As part of a project for my Prescott College studies I have chosen to write a food blog about eating locally grown foods.  I call my blog San Juan Foodie because I grew up in the San Juan Islands and now live in the San Juan Mountains. 

I will seek out fresh produce and meats at farmer's markets where I live and during travels. I will take photos of the dishes I create and add descriptions. Follow along on my summer 2013 culinary journey. 

You will see other blogs I have posted in the past connected to this Blogger site. They were started in 2010 and have not been updated. San Juan Foodie Blog is specific to our EIS summer course.