Braised Potatoes

2 lbs. small red potatoes, about 1 1/2 inch diameter, scrubbed and cut in half (get these from Granny’s Produce at the farmer’s market)

Place in a skillet, cut side down

Add: 2 cups water

1 Tblsp. Realsalt

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 Tblsp. butter (local butter can be found at the farmer’s market from Epicurean Chefs)

3 cloves garlic (whole, peeled)

Bring to a simmer and cover; let simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are just tender when tested with a knife. Don’t stir or move the potatoes during cooking! Just let them simmer away face down.

Remove lid and take the garlic out (it should be nice and soft), and increase heat - let water simmer away till gone and what you’ll have left in the bottom is just the butter, which is now browning and crisping the potatoes nicely.

Take the garlic you removed earlier and mince it up finely, then mix with a tiny bit of lemon juice (or if you are doing the Hardcore challenge, use some Slide Ridge Honey Wine Vinegar instead). Take the potatoes out of the pan and place in a bowl.

Sprinkle the minced garlic mixture over them, along with a handful of minced fresh chives. Serve and enjoy!

Tomato and Buratta Crostini

Ingredients:

Crostini (Harmons Artisan bakery)

Tomatos (Backyard)

Buratta Cheese (Caputos)

Basil Leaves (Backyard)

Salt and Pepper (Real salt)

Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

Layer crostini with one slice of tomato, top with buratta, basil leaf, salt ane pepper, and vinegar. 

Local Bahn Mi Burger

Ingredients:

Clifford Farms ground pork
Real salt for seasoning
Shredded carrots and cucumbers from my garden (or the farmers market)
Sliced jalepenos and radishes from my garden (or the farmers market)
Marinade for veg: dash of fish sauce, seasoned rice wine vinegar, real salt, dash of Clifford Farms honey, splash of water
Cilantro from farmers market
Crusty rolls from Harmon's bakery
Mountain town olive oil drizzle for bread

Direction:

Make marinade and pour over sliced and shredded vegetables. Set aside to pickle. (do at least an hour before you're ready to grill).
Heat grill on medium high. Shape ground pork into oblong burgers or to fit your buns. Season with real salt, and when grill is hot, put burgers on to cook. Slice rolls, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Grill burgers for at least 8 minutes per side, and use a thermometer to make sure you've reached at least 165 degrees. When done, remove burgers and set aside to rest for a couple of minutes. Place burgers on rolls, and top with pickled vegetables, cilantro, and another dash of olive oil. Eat!

Bloody Mary

Ingredients:

Quart of tomatoes (either fresh or put up from last year)
Pickled carrots, asparagus, cucumbers, peppers, jardinière or other favorite pickled vegetables
Dash of pickling liquid
Van Kwartel Hot sauce
Freshly grated horseradish (can use jarred in a pinch!)
real salt
Salt City Vodka
Non hardcore add-ons: Fresh lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, black pepper

Directions:

In a powerful blender or food processor, process or liquefy tomatoes. Pour back into quart jar and set aside. In a cocktail shaker, place three ounces of vodka, a tablespoon (or to taste) of horseradish, a few dashes of salt, and a dash of pickling liquid from your home-canned vegetables of choice. Add a dash or two of van kwartel or other hot sauce as desired. Throw in a few ice cubes and fill nearly to the top with blended tomatoes and their juice. Shake well, and pour over ice into glasses. Garnish with your favorite pickled carrots, asparagus, cukes, peppers, or fresh celery stalks. Makes two. Or one, if your Saturday night was particularly brutal.

Corny Panzanella Salad

This recipe is a simple and colorful way to eat local!

Cut up a loaf of good local bread into cubes and leave them to dry on your counter overnight. I like to frequent Caputo's Market and Deli to score day-old bread from Eva's Bakery (It's super cheap).

Once the bread cubes are nice and stale, chop up two tomatoes and one Armenian cucumber then add them to the stale bread. I bought mine from my favorite local shop, Urban Farm & Feed, located in Holladay.

Strip kernels off a corn cob and throw them in the salad. Raw corn adds a sweet flavor and a great crunch. I was lucky enough to be gifted with fresh corn from a co-worker.

Stir up the salad and add olive oil and vinegar to taste (And here are my two exceptions! They are not local.) You want the salad to be wet, but don't go crazy. The tomatoes will break down and add moisture. Sprinkle with Real Salt and add fresh chopped basil and parsley. My herbs came from my little porch garden.

Corny Panzanella Salad is tastiest once the flavors have mingled - a few hours is good, or you can leave it in the fridge overnight. Serve at room temperature. Feel free to add some local feta or maybe some thinly sliced Creminelli salumi. This is a very free-spirited recipe and begs to be tweaked to your taste!

Heirloom Tomato & Basil Mini Pizza

INGREDIENTS:

-as many mini naan as you want pizzas
-heirloom tomato slices (Murray Market Gardens)
-fresh chopped basil (Murray Market Gardens)
-drizzle of olive oil on each pizza
-one slice of local mozzarella or provolone (we used Cache Valley)
-2 or 3 grinds of your favorite Solstice Spice (the photo shows Paprika but we also love Chile Garlic)
-Real Salt if needed to taste (Paprika is salt free, Chile Garlic contains salt)

METHOD:

Heat oven to 400F. Pull naan from freezer and arrange in a flat layer on a sheet pan. Drizzle with just enough olive oil to barely coat the bread. Add thinly sliced cheese to cover the bread. Place thinly sliced tomatoes on top of the cheese. Season with a few grinds of your favorite Solstice Spice. Place in oven for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melty and bread is slightly crunchy. Top with fresh basil that has been carefully chopped with a sharp knife. Then ENJOY! And then wish you had made more.

Chard & Sausage Frittata

Ingredients:

1 bunch of rainbow chard from Keep It Real Vegetables Farm
6 eggs from a friend with chickens ;) Shhh they aren't allowed in O-town
1/8 C mill from Rosehill Dairy (not needed but it makes the eggs fluffy and creamy)
a few sprigs of fresh dill from Farmers Market
2 sausages (Canyon Meadows Ranch , grass fed brats!)
1/4 c shredded cheese, I used Beehive from last weeks box!
salt & pepper
2 tbsp butter
Smoked paprika to sprinkle on top, optional

Directions

Saute chard in 1 tbs butter and set aside
Boil sausage until done and slice into thin pieces, cut diagonally to make larger oval slices
pre-heat the oven to 300 and sit the cast iron inside to heat up
In a bowl whisk together eggs, pinch of salt & pepper and milk
Add dill and cheese to egg mixture and mix in
Remove hot cast iron from oven and add 1 tbsp butter, let melt and coat all sides
Add chard to cast iron evenly, press down to the bottom to form a chard crust
Add egg mixture
Top with sausage slices in a pretty pattern
Sprinkle with smoked paprika
Bake for 15-2 minutes or until middle is done and edges crisp and pull away from edge of cast iron.
Let cool a few minutes before slicing.

Beet Burgers

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked quinoa, from Winco bulk bins
3 medium sized beets from Keep It Real Vegetables
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 sprig of rosemary from farmers market
1 clove of garlic from sandhill farms
1/4 sm white onion from 3 squares produce
1/2 c breadcrumbs or crushed crackers (I used crushed organic rosemary crackers)
handful of parsley from farmers market
salt & pepper
2 tbsp Oil + extra for cooking
Beehive cheese or cheese of choice
Sauteed kale for topping, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 275
Toss diced beets in oil and sea salt
Roast beets for 20-30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes.
In a food processor puree beets, 1 cup of quinoa, garbanzo beans and herbs and spices and oil
Move mixture into a bowl
Mix in leftover quinoa and breadcrumbs until completely mixed
Turn oven on to lowest temp, for me its 150 and sit a baking pan inside
Heat a frying pan on medium with a couple tbsp of oil, just enough to keep the burgers from sticking
Using your hands (the messy part!) form mixture into patty, using about 1 cup of mixture per burger
Add to pan and cook on each side until golden
transfer to baking pan inside oven to finish cooking
Bake for 15-20 minutes
During the last few minutes, top with cheese until melted.
For toppings, I chose sauteed kale from my Eat Local box!

Mediterranean Veggies & Couscous

Ingredients:

1 eggplant from Urban farm & feed
1 summer squash or zucchini from Eat Local Challenge swap basket
1 patty pan or another zucchini from Keep It Real Vegetables
3 small carrots (I used tri-color carrots!) from Urban Farm & Feed
2 large heirloom tomatoes from Keep It Real Vegetables
1 bunch of leafy greens ( I used collards) from 3 squares produce
2 cloves of garlic from Sandhill farms
1/2 C pearl/Isreali couscous from Winco bulk bins
1 tbsp butter or vegan margarine
1 cup vegetable broth (homemade!)
Garam masala straight from Bahrain from my sisters trip!
salt to taste
Parsley from farmers market

Directions:

Chop garlic finely and saute in butter with garam masala
Peel eggplant and saute until in garlic butter until it is halfway done
Dice the squash and chop the carrots and add to eggplant
Saute veggies until tender
Chop heirloom tomatoes (don’t seed) and add to veggies
Cook for a few minutes before adding couscous and broth
cook until couscous is tender
Salt to taste and top with fresh parsley