Information and resources for eating only food locally produced in Whatcom County
Category : Beverages, March, Recipes, Wildcrafting
So now you’ve gone out and foraged some stinging nettles, and you know how to handle them comfortably. How do you cook them? Easiest place to start is making tea. Nettles tea is very healthy and will give you a good opportunity to see what nettles taste like. I thought it might taste kind of “green” but it’s got a sweet note that makes it very pleasant. The color is simply spectacular. Continue Reading
Category : About Food Sources, April, March, Wildcrafting
For many people, stinging nettles (Urtica dioica and the closely related Urtica urens) conjure up images of nasty burning sensations caused by brushing against the nearly invisible spines on the leaves of an otherwise lovely green plant. Nettles grow wild in damp, shady woods, and can reach several feet high.
Nettles’ sting comes from sharp silicate-bearing, hair-like structures on the leaves that actually shoot irritating substances into your skin like a hypodermic needle. Unlike plants which cause reactions for only some people, nettle stings affect virtually everyone who touches them.
So why not just avoid nettles altogether? Continue Reading
Category : About Food Sources, April, Bellingham, Farmers' Markets, Main Dishes, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
Most of the ingredients in this dish, except the butter, were items purchased at the Bellingham Farmers Market from Whatcom County farm vendors on opening day (April 7, 2012). Even this early in the spring, local farmers have an amazing array of vegetables and other foods from which to choose. Continue ReadingCategory : About Food Sources, April, Bellingham, Farmers' Markets, Where to Buy Local Food
As I walked toward the Bellingham Farmers Market last Saturday on opening day, the background music started to swell. Was this the climactic scene in my own in-my-head local foods movie? It felt like it, but then I caught sight of the band playing gypsy music and snapped back to reality. The music was real, lively, and fun, and a big circle of people had gathered in the middle of Railroad St. to listen. One wiggly, loose-limbed fellow was displaying his dance moves, and kids were watching with rapt (and painted) faces. Besides that, the sun was out! The Market was definitely off to a running start! Continue Reading
Category : April, Condiments, Recipes
This month (April 2012), the Whatcom Farm to School program’s featured ingredient is frozen blueberries. That means participating school districts in Whatcom County will be serving at least one meal highlighting frozen blueberries. Some will also be offering students some classroom time to learn about blueberries, how they are grown, etc.
This came at a perfect time for me. When the Bellingham Farmers Market opens for the season, I know it’s time to start cleaning out fruit and vegetables from my freezer and pantry jars. I had some blueberries left from last year, so decided to make refrigerator jam with them. Continue Reading
I had an inordinate amount of eggs on hand, and was thinking about recipes which use lots of eggs. Pound cake usually has lots of eggs in it, but I had never tried making it with honey instead of sugar. Continue Reading
Today, I continued taking advantage of the abundance of locally produced eggs currently available. When I was young, one of my favorite pies was custard. During the years that eggs were getting a bad rap for causing heart disease, I quit making or eating custard pie. Now that I know better, I wanted to try making a locavore custard. Continue ReadingCategory : Appetizers, March, Recipes, Snacks
Deviled eggs remind me of my Indiana grandmother and annual family reunions on various family farms where there were more people than you could count. My mother also developed the knack for making wonderful deviled eggs. I can’t help but continue to play with the recipes, though. My results have been turning out much better since I started buying locally produced eggs laid by healthy, happy chickens. Continue Reading
Photo by Fir0002
Since the 1970s, we’ve been told by scientists that eating eggs could increase our blood cholesterol, leading to clogged arteries. A lot of this was based on the fact that eggs contain cholesterol. Recently, though, researchers have changed their recommendations. For example, eggs also contain lecithin, which can help keep cholesterol in solution in the blood, helping to prevent it from being deposited in the blood vessels. When you eat a whole egg you get both cholesterol and lecithin, and they work together. Continue Reading
Category : March, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
Whatcom Farm to School’s “Harvest of the Month” for March 2012 is kale, one of my favorite local greens. I’ve been growing, eating, and enjoying kale for years, so I was surprised to find that many people think of kale as an unusual vegetable. If that includes you, let me fill you in on what you’ve been missing. Continue ReadingCategory : Holidays, January, Main Dishes, Recipes
Sockeye salmon has a sturdy flavor and so needs very little in the way of preparation. In fact, some would say it is best eaten raw (first ensuring it is sushi quality, of course). I prefer to simply saute sockeye fillets in butter–no herbs and no sauce. At most, I might sprinkle on a little lemon juice after the fish is fully cooked. Continue ReadingCategory : January, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
Winter meals in the northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest are all about warmth, stick-to-your-ribs heartiness, and flavors with substance. For locavores, winter is also about root vegetables, the kinds of things that are harvested in late fall and can be stored over the winter. Continue ReadingCategory : Breakfast, January, Main Dishes, Recipes, Vegetarian
A friend of mine enjoys the taste of squash, but she has a hard time getting past the mushy texture. Since she grows so much squash in her garden, and often shares with me, I’ve been doing some experimenting to see if I could solve her problem and come up with some variation of cooked squash that was crispy.
This recipe was not a success from the texture point of view. However, the flavor was wonderful! Continue Reading
