Earth Dinner #2

I am hosting a monthly potluck Earth Dinner for LAF customers and anyone else interested in local food. I am willing to host all the Earth Dinners, but others can take a turn if you like. We will gather our families, eat yummy homemade food made from as local ingredients as possible, and otherwise play and hang out. Sound fun? Keep reading.


Earth Dinner #2 will be held Sunday October 18, 2009 from 4:30-7:30 pm at my house (email or call if you don't know where I live yet). Please bring the equivalent of a picnic basket with you with your plates, utensils, cups, cloth napkins, etc. Bring with you:


* a homemade pot luck dish made with as many local sources ingredients as possible

* the recipe to share!

* drinks for your family

* a game or activity to share

Apple Party This Saturday

In case you are not aware, it is apple season in Maryland! That means it is time to hit the farms and farmers' market, make applesauce, apple butter, apple pie, dried apples, and all sort of other yummy things. I want to share this time with my other local food eating families, so I am having an Apple Party!

This is more of a work party with plenty of fun thrown in :-) This coming saturday morning (10/3) we will go to the LaPlata Farmer's Market, buy crates of apples and honey, and go to my house to make apple sauce and apple butter. It will be a multi-hour affair, so bring plenty of snacks/lunch for yourself and any kids you bring with you. You might want to bring another adult with you so they can hang out with the kids while you work.

Here's what to bring: the two largest pots you have (or a selection), a crock pot (large) if you have one, a cutting board, a short to medium knife, cinnamon, nutmeg, and canning jars with new lids and rings enough to store at least 6 pints of food. If you need canning jars, you can visit the LaPlata Farm Store by the old train station, but do call ahead to make sure they have what you want. I recommend pint or 1/2 pint jars; either wide mouth or narrow mouth will work. Dont forget to let me know if you are coming to the Apple Party!

This week's Food (9/4/09)

This week is strange, because we decided at the last minute to enjoy the holiday weekend. So there is NO DELIVERY this week unless you want to wait until wednesday. I can hook you up with the farm directly if you would like to visit the farm and pick up yourself (which is a lovely visit and overall experience to know where your food is coming from). Just email me if you want to order directly. This week orders are due by friday at noon.

From Next Step Produce ...
The following are all certified organic

* Heirloom watermelons - small seeded red ($4/each), large seeded red ($10/each) large seeded yellow ($10/each)
* Watermelons - medium seedless red, orange, or yellow @ $8/each
* cherry tomatoes (red or yellow) @ $3.50/pt
* regular red tomatoes @ $2.80/lb
* heirloom pinks/purples/blacks tomatoes @ $3.80/lb
* heirloom yellows/oranges/marbled tomatoes @ $3.80/lb
* tomatillos @ $5/quart
* green bell peppers @ $2.50/lb
* ripe red bell peppers @ $5/lb
* italian eggplant @ $2/lb
* asian eggplant @ $4/lb
* zucchini (green and yellow) @ $2.50/lb
* summer squash (yellow straightneck) @ $2.50/lb
* slicing cucumbers @ $2.00/lb
* yardlong beans (green or purple) @ $3/bunch
* flat pole beans @ $3/pint
* parsley bunch @ $2.50
* cilantro bunch @ $2.50
* dill bunch @ $2.50
* basil bunch @ $3
* calaloo bunch @ $3/bunch
* sweet potato greens @ $3/bunch
* red malabar spinach @ $3/bunch
* large red gold or carola potatoes @ $2/lb
* small carola potatoes @ $5/qt
* regular onions @ $3/lb
* garlic or elephant $8.50/lb (typical head is $1.75)

From Fresh Start Farm:
* free range, organically fed medium eggs @ $2.50/dz
* heritage breed chickens available now @ $2.50/lb with typical weights under 4 lbs (these types of chickens are good for roasting and have small breast compared to the cornish hens)

*** Cornish hens will be available again at the end of September, and then NOT AGAIN UNTIL SPRING. Order now!

From Me:
* kombucha starter and instructions @ $3 (ask for a taste if you've never had this fermented beverage)

Please remember that between nature and labor, sometimes not everything on the list is actually harvested according to plan.

Review of Earth Dinner #1

Our first Earth Dinner was great fun and fabulously delicious! Eleven people including my family gathered together to celebrate locally grown and homemade food while talking the night away. We feasted on roast turkey (25 mile), herbed sweet potatoes (0 mile), honey whole wheat bread (wheat was from Pittsburgh, honey was 15 mile), fruit salad (not sure), tomatoes and mozzarella with basil (15 mile), rosemary and honey potatoes (15 mile), local sangria (~80 mile) and sweet white wine (~45 mile), and watermelon sorbet. It felt like Thanksgiving! Here are some recipes to get your mouth watering ...

Watermelon Sorbet

1. Cut the flesh off a fair number of watermelon slices


2. Remove seeds


3. Cut watermelon into chunks and place in blender


4. Puree till smooth and pour into short, fat container (you want as thin a layer of watermelon as you can)


5. Freeze for several hours


6. Remove from freezer, break into chunks again, place back in blender, and puree again (you might have to give the watermelon a few minutes on the counter before you can get it out and break it up)


7. Serve in beautiful glasses, preferably chilled

Herbed Sweet Potatoes

1. Clean and cut up sweet potatoes into bite size pieces


2. Drizzle olive oil, sea salt, thyme, and (what other herb?) over sweet potatoes - to taste


3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes uncovered, stir half way through

Rosemary and Honey Potatoes

1. Clean and cut up 10-12 red potatoes into bite size pieces (8th should work)


2. Drizzle honey, olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and rosemary over potatoes - to taste


3. Bake at 425 degrees F for 45-55 minutes uncovered, stir half way through

Enjoy!