Hi guys! Happy Wednesday. How are you? Let me tell you: after a few weeks of shortened weeks due to vacation and holidays, this one seems to be inordinately long. Am I the only one? Regardless, tomorrow is Emilyday and we’re fairly close to the weekend!
So, today kicked off one of my summer initiatives: a trip to the Farm Stand. Starting today, I will be doing my best not to purchase produce at the grocery store. Its going to be a challenge for me because it will, at times, mean two different stops (I’m a busy lady!) and because I’m just so used to getting everything I need at the grocery store.
My reasons for doing this are two fold: 1) I want to support local farms. 2a) Lately, I’ve noticed that I’ve been in kind of a food rut. I go to the grocery store and always buy the same fruits and veggies (whether or not they are in season or local). Buying my produce at the farm stand will force me to switch up my routine and will hopefully come up with some new recipes. 2b) Local food just tastes BETTER! It really does. Its amazing.
Today, on my first trip, I picked up a (reusable) bag full of goodies: zucchini, sweet potato, asparagus, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, avocado (definitely not local), and a spreadable, delectable, cheese that I will go into in a bit.
For dinner tonight, I chopped two zucchini, a small onion, about half an eggplant, two tomatoes and two garlic cloves and sautéed them in some olive oil (starting with the zucchers and onion) until they were a bit caramelized and soft. The eggplant and tomaters released a ton of water and flavor and added an almost stew-like quality to it all.
Towards the end of cooking – probably about 20 minutes – I added a can of drained and rinsed chick peas, dried basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flake. This ended up being really, really tasty. I added a bit of parmesan cheese on top and went to town. Yum.
Now, onto the cheese. I was perusing the refrigerators at the Farm Stand and stumbled across this carton. I pretty much saw “Fig Pecan” and grabbed it as fast as I could. When I got home from the gym and the Farm Stand today, I was starving and in need of a shower. I also couldn’t stop thinking about the Fig Pecan “Trempherbe.” So I did the rational thing – spread a piece of whole wheat bread with an ample amount of it.
It.was.so.good. It reminded me of my favorite honey walnut cream cheese from growing up – except a bit more airy and complex. In addition to the fig and pecan, this contains cinnamon, honey and sunflower seeds. So.good. I can’t stop thinking of ways to eat it. How would you guys eat it??
6 comments:
YAY for supporting farmers. I wish I did that more!!
There's a local farm right down the road from me and I keep saying I need to go there to shop for produce...you're motivating me to go!
I have quite a few local farms in my town and on my drive home from work. I love stopping and grabbing random things. Your dinner looks great Em!
Tasty Tasty!!!! sound delicious! Glad you made it...and you're right...local always tastes better!
I'm so bad about having to stop at multiple places too, but I will say I'll usually do it if it means a stop at the summer farmer's market. I agree it's an awesome way to get out of food ruts!
I LOVE this idea! I think it definitely helps when you're in a food rut. I think that's why I love our seasonal food challenge so much. It really gets us thinking outside the box with food and encourages us to come up with new ideas. Your dish looks delicious!
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