Apparently last week over at Urban Hennery, some murmurings started sneaking in about how many of the Dark Days Challenge recipes people had been submitting seemed…well…complicated.  It seems some of the folks taking the challenge for the first time were taken aback by the ambitiousness of multi-course dinners and fancy sauces created by those who have been local fooding and cooking from scratch for a good long while.

I’m sure you all know my stance on that.

I dig fancy-pants meals sometimes.  I really do.  But simple is also good.  Very good.  And tasty.

I can do simple.

So, this week, I decided to keep my Dark Days meal extra-simple and use some ingredients that more folks would be able to find without, you know, having to move to the desert.  With the exception of the orange, I think I done good. Basically, I am excited that so many people did sign up at Urban Hennery for the challenge, and I hope they keep it going.  You know, sometimes you have scrambled eggs for dinner  or squash and a salad.  That counts, too!  And so does this week’s project: sweet potato apple bake with a side of wilted winter greens.

Read more

Last week, there was a moment.

The moment came some time after the third batch of homemade cream of mushroom soup, some time after I had a nice dusting of flour on my face and four pies sat cooling on the counter, just a minute or two before my second green bean casserole completely from scratch was popped in the oven.  The moment came after Thanksgiving trailed so closely on the heels of our early family Christmas, leaving no space to breathe.

It was the moment—just one moment—when I questioned the wisdom of investing so much time and effort into fancy holiday dishes that would almost certainly be devoured in a single sitting.  What was the point?

However, when your guests ask permission to lick out the green bean casserole dish and the insane amount of garlic potatoes you made are devoured almost the second you turn your back, when the table is surrounded by fat and happy tummies and family faces smiling contentedly…when all this is going on and you know you fed your guests real, healthy food, responsibly grown…well, things are pretty doggone good.

But I have to say, the Unicyclist and I are looking forward to keeping things simple around here for a while.  Today, for our second Dark Days Challenge recipe, we decided to hit the nearby Sunday farmers’ market and see what we could come up with that wouldn’t be overly fussy or fatty, seeing as how we recently consumed half our body weight in pie.  Here’s our haul:

Read more

The Consumers Union (publishers of Consumer Reports magazine) have teamed up with the Eat Well Guide to offer a Thanksgiving challenge: buy at least one local or organic food item, include it in a fabulous Thanksgiving recipe, and then post your recipe for others to use and enjoy.

Just one item?  Hot dog!  It doesn’t get much simpler.

Check out the doing Thanksgiving locally challenge before you do your last-minute shopping.  If you’re lacking inspiration, you can even use their site to search for recipes from renowned chefs Alice Waters, Dan Barber, and Mario Batali.  And drop a line back here in the comments to show off your delectable dishes!

Yesterday morning, The Unicyclist, mom, and I left Hooterville for the bustling streets of Big City, WI.  Among our other errands was the intent to pick up enough goods to pull off our first local meal for the Dark Days of Winter Challenge.  I felt confident we’d be able to pull it off, despite the fact that our trusty CSA share was 1500 miles away in Phoenix.  Southern Wisconsin is rife with farms and markets, with a couple trusty co-ops thrown in for good measure, and I only had to stay 90% local.  Plus, I already had a plan: mushroom soup.  Something creamy, flavorful, with fresh garden herbs.  Something utterly unlike the pale goop that comes in a can at the grocery store.  Something inspired by the drool-worthy gravy from the green bean casserole I made for our holiday dinner.  Something like this:

Read more

Caitlin D. of Feasting on Pelops just tipped me off to an interesting challenge going on at (not so) Urban Hennery.  (Not so) Urban Hennery is a fun site that was first created by a husband and wife team wrangling chickens in Big City, WA.  (Think “shenanigans.”  Shenanigans are good, right?)  They’ve left the city but kept the chickens, and now they write about their chickens, local food, and cooking as well.  (Think “info.”  Lots of good info.  Info is good, right?)

Anywho, they have posted the Dark Days challenge for this winter.  The task?  Read more after the jump.

Read more