Saturday, November 8, 2008

And so it begins...

The first day of eating locally has begun. It's been easy. Period. I don't want to mislead you, fine reader, but eating locally is and should remain the easiest thing to do. That is, if you take into account all the work that goes into the alternative -- well-traveled food.

Here's what I ate today. For breakfast, I had what I am now calling potato-squash pancakes (recipe below), while for dinner it was as easy as inviting people for a potluck. I brought applesauce with maple syrup in it. Yum!

Local Potato-Squash Pancakes
(makes 2 (ful)filling pancake)

1 cup grated potato
1 cup cooked spaghetti squash (in glass baking dish at 350 for 1 hour (more or less))
1 egg
3 cloves garlic (optional)
1/4 of a medium sized red onion (optional)
1 teaspoon vanity salt (optional)
1 teaspoon sunflower oil (you can buy this local from Le Frigo Vert!)
Maple syrup (optional)

Squeeze as much moisture out of the grated potato as possible. In a bowl, mix the potato, stringy squash, egg (and garlic and onion, if you want it savoury), and fashion into a sphere. Schmoosh into frying pan with sunflower oil, filling the entire bottom of the pan. Cook as you would a pancake, flipping only once. Eat straight if savoury (perhaps a dash more of salt) or top with maple syrup or local applesauce (with maple syrup in it!).

A note about the eggs. They are sketchy. I bought them with my roommate at Marché Jean-Talon (MJT) from a stall called Le Capitaine. Originally, we were attracted to them because there was an article in the Gazette about them being uncertified organic (which can be cool if the farmers are "post-organic"), but the article is sparse on actual reporting beyond quotes from the stall owner, and the cheapness of the eggs has raised eyebrows online. I've learned that you have to check your facts with some of the vendors and be suspicious more times than not about "farmers" at the market. It's usually as easy as a friendly chat!

Tim

Band name I made up: "Down low and the High Five"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is the sunflower oil from Le Frigo Vert produced on the farm out east of Montreal off hwy 20 about 22 km from Ontario? They grow their own sunflowers and press them on the farm. You can sometimes see the flowers from the highway depending on there crop rotation and what time of year you are coming home.

Dad

Tim Dowling said...

I did a little extra research on that and it turns out its from Upton, QC., which is east of Montreal.