OLS - Week 5

Well, I didn't really get around to making a 100% local meal this week, and since Aaron is away this week (on a free trip to Israel. So jealous...) and took my camera, my post would have been boring anyway (what?! no pictures?!). I did make a semi-local meal that yielded leftovers for most of the week: non-local whole wheat pasta with local veggies (mushrooms, onions, zucchini, tomatoes) and local canola oil.

I've finally been really buckling down on my dissertation, and I think I'll actually get it done by the deadline! Some interesting stuff too...I can't wait to post some of my graphs...

And randomly, because I'm in a random mood:

10 Things I Loved About This Week
1) Being super-productive!
2) Having leftovers for more than one dinner in a row (yes, I guess that is counterintuitive)
3) Having the bed all to myself
4) Getting to hang out with my friend Andrea who was visiting for the weekend!
5) Fancy tea at the Balmoral Hotel
5a) Fancy hand lotion in the bathroom at the Balmoral Hotel
6) Eating at a couple of my favorite restaurants
7) Tea (again) with my friend Brighid
8) 3 Rain-free days in a row!
9) A clean apartment
10) The multi-pack of brightly colored socks Andrea surprised me with (I can't express how much I love these socks. Weird, I know)

The One Thing I Hated About This Week
1) Missing Aaron

OLS - Week 4

For anyone with concerns about most of the OLS crew being female -- here is the truth. Aaron is the driving force behind most of our OLS and non-OLS meals. He spends way more time than me barefoot and in the kitchen. Not only does he do the majority of the cooking, but he also bakes most of the bread we eat. This week's OLS dinner was a great example of his culinary prowess: freshly baked hibernian brown bread, a spinach-mushroom frittata, and a zucchini saute. Let's hear it for the guys!



Ingredients:

Zucchini Saute
- Zucchini, tomatoes, onions, garlic
- Canola oil
- Non-local: salt, pepper

Spinach-Mushroom Frittata
- Eggs, mushrooms, spinach, cheese
- Canola oil
- Non-local: salt, pepper

Whole Wheat Hibernian Brown Bread
- Whole wheat flour, white flour, oats
- Egg, butter
- Semi-local: yogurt (from somewhere in southern England)
- Non-local: salt, baking soda

We also had some new finds at the farmers market this weekend. Red gooseberries (they taste and look like grapes), and apple-rhubarb juice. I am so spoiled by this farmers market... it is certainly making me have second thoughts about moving back to the States.

OLS - Week 3

This week's dinner was the old standby Aaron and I make when we can't think of anything else to cook (which ends up happening a lot). The dish is called Colcannon, a traditional Irish dish consisting of mashed potatoes with some shredded cooked cabbage mixed in. Delicious, and it doesn't get much cheaper than potatoes and cabbage!



To round out the meal, we added fried eggs, and sauteed tomatoes.

Ingredients:

Colcannon:
- Organic potatoes
- Organic cabbage
- Organic onions
- Milk, butter, (non-local: salt & pepper)

Fried eggs:
- Free-range organic eggs, canola oil

Sauteed tomatoes:
- Tomatoes, garlic, canola oil, (non-local: salt & pepper)

That's all for this week. In other news, my dissertation is coming along nicely; I probably won't go into panic mode for another couple weeks. I'll try to post some of the findings from my research sometime soon -- its turning out to be pretty interesting!

Besides school, Aaron and I have started taking salsa dancing lessons, and we had a nice relaxing picnic on the beach today. Yes, there is a beach in Edinburgh -- a not half bad beach even. And they allow dogs! We'll have to bring Cassie next time. And the camera...

OLS - Week 2

We decided to celebrate the 4th of July Scottish-style this year: American barbecue classics made with Scottish produce!


Burgers, deviled eggs, pickles, and potato salad.


And strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Ingredients:

Burgers:
- Hamburger rolls: whole wheat and white flours (did I mention they're locally grown AND milled?), free-range organic eggs, honey, (non-local: salt and yeast).
- Burgers: organic ground beef
- Organic onions
- Organic lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Homemade mayo: egg yolk, canola oil, (non-local: lemon juice)

Deviled eggs:
- Free-range eggs, homemade mayo, chives, (non-local cayenne pepper)

Pickles:
- Organic pickling cucumbers, organic garlic, semi-local blackcurrant vinegar, (non-local: dried dill, mustard seeds, salt)

Potato salad:
- Organic new potatoes
- Cucumber
- Vinaigrette: canola oil, semi-local blackcurrant vinegar, (non-local: salt and mustard seeds)

Strawberry shortcake:
- Shortcake: white flour, organic butter, cream, honey, eggs, (non-local: salt, baking powder)
- Strawberries
- Whipped cream: whipping cream, honey, (non-local: vanilla extract)

You might notice that the majority of the ingredients for my local meals are not organic. This is because buying local ingredients has always been a priority for me (outside of the challenge) over organic. I think organic is great, but not perfect. Locally-sourced foods do the most for the environment by reducing food miles. Incidentally, locally-sourced foods also inherently tend to come from smaller farms (meaning more money stays in the local economy, and you support "real" farmers. I'll try to post sometime about why people who manage mega-farms don't count as farmers in my book). Organic certification is always great for farmers' profits (organic tends to command a higher price), but certification is expensive and is often out of the reach of smaller farms. Also, some people argue that paying for organic certification supports the USDA (the certifying body) -- and some see that as a bad thing. Anyway, those are my reasons for the priorities that I have. But from a purely hedonist point of view, its hard to argue that anything is better than a very local strawberry eaten right in the field. If you've never had this experience...well, get thyself to a pick-your-own strawberry farm (or raspberry, blueberry, apple, etc).