Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Dark Days: Soup & Salad



This was a very thrown-together meal. I chucked some frozen turkey stock and turkey pieces in the pot (from my aunt's local Thanksgiving turkey), added the leftover baked corn from Sunday and started to dump in the local noodles. Then I read the bag. I had gotten the wrong noodles: these were made in a neighboring state, not a neighboring town (sometimes these mistakes happen when I shop with children!). Boiled it up. At the end I added local parsley and un-local garlic (why can't I get local garlic?! I haven't seen any!).

We also ate the remnants of the green salad from Sunday, but this time with some roasted beets and a local salad dressing: 1000 Island based on a recipe in the More with Less Cookbook that my mother made a lot.

1000 Island Dressing
In a jar with a tight lid, dump the following:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 c. ketcup
2 Tbs. pickle relish
1 tsp. paprika
2 Tbs. minced onion
snipped parsley or minced green pepper
salt and pepper

Put lid on tight and shake well. My mom also added chopped hard boiled eggs.

Only after I made the dressing did I realize how local it is: I make my own mayo with local eggs. I made ketchup this year with local organic tomatoes. I also made pickle relish for the first time because my parents' little garden grew so many cucumbers. And then I used local onions and parsley of course.



And we had Christmas cookies for dessert. With Italian meringue (which deserves its own post soon).

2 comments:

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

Margo, I love the simple approach and thrifty, creative direction of your blog! As I browsed your posts this evening I noticed that you often reference Mennonite sources. Are you familiar with the cookbook Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert? It has strong Mennonite roots and is a fantastic recipe guide to cooking and eating both locally and according to what is in season. Many of the included recipes are unique and delicious. I reference this cookbook often; you might enjoy it as well.

Margo said...

I do love this cookbook! I use it a lot and I'm sure some recipes will appear on here as I keep cooking and posting.