The Local Harvest Dish

sorry for the late posting – i swore i did this already…but this is what you missed…

Dinner Menu
November 25, 2008

Starters
Cheese and Antipasto Plate – 8
(local salami, cheeses, various pickles & marinated olives)
House Made Meatballs – 4
(served with roasted red pepper aioli)

Salads
Small – 4     Large – 7
Artichoke Salad (mixed greens, served with dried cranberries, red onion,
with a roasted garlic artichoke dressing)
Side Salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, red onions, and balsamic vinaigrette.)

Entrees
Green Plate Special – 8
(sweet potato soup, served with a croissant & green salad)

Indus Green Plate – 8
(spinach paneer, spicy roasted cauliflower, curry potatoes,
brown jasmine rice)

All Missouri Beef Hot Dog – 8
(served on a Black Bear bun with grainy mustard, mayonnaise, onion, cole
slaw, pickles, hot green chiles, sriracha, roasted red peppers)

Pizzas – 8
Simple Pizza  (tomato sauce, mozzarella, roasted peppers)
Athena (roasted garlic oil, olives, roasted red peppers, and feta)

Dessert
Brownies, Raspberry Chocolate Bars, Apple Spice Cake – 2
Pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing – 3
Four Seasons Sweet Quick Bread – 4

Sarah and her rockin' son graciously pose with their prize turkey.

It’s 4:00p.m. Sunday afternoon and Brian from Farrar Out Farms is scouting our back alley to make sure the large refrigerated Ryder truck he’s rented for the turkey deliveries will actually fit without taking out any wires.  Luckily for all of us, turkeys included, the truck fits and the unloading begin.

We’ve arranged to stay open late so our turkey buyers can come to pick up the 80 turkeys we sold this year.  It easily could have been 100 had Farrar Out had them to sell.  I never thought I’d be so excited about fresh turkeys, especially given the fact that I was a vegetarian for 18 years, but there I was anxiously anticipating the arrival of our customers and the turkeys.

Brian and the two guys he brought with him, Mark, Pat, Anne, and I start the unloading.  Brian recounts that it had been a hard week.  Not only is it hard work to slaughter and process so many turkeys, but the cold weather the past week had made it that much harder.

As I listen I think about how much these turkeys are really worth and wonder if people realize all that goes into raising an animal for consumption.  I think about all the meals I’ve taken for granted.  I’m also thinking how grateful I am to all of our farmers and to the people who shop at our store and want to support the tough business of farming.  (Hey wait, it sounds like I’m giving Thanks? Well, how appropriate is that???)

A few minutes after we unload, the people start arriving.  I don’t know if they felt this way, but I felt a great sense of community.  It was fun being the deliverer of the turkey–the prize of the meal. It was fun watching people visit and watching them prepare for the meal to come.  It reminded me that lots of people really do want to be connected and do want to know where their food comes from.  And it reminded me again to contemplate all that happened so that I could eat– the seeds that were planted, the hands that harvested it, the little tiny things in the soil (microorganism? right?) that nourished it, the farmer who tended the animal, the animal who lived so that I could too, and in thinking about this I am grateful.

So Happy Happy Thanksgiving.

-Maddie Earnest

This is such a cool product.  A bird feeder you don’t even have to fill.  Crazy.  These self contained bird feeders are made in Illinois using as much local grains as possible.  The folks who assemble them have severe impairments and this allows them to have stable employment.  Perfect for your friends and family who love birds.  It doesn’t take much room and it’s easy to hang.  The cost is only $5.99

come in for the best gourmet hot dog in south city…and some missouri beef meatballs.

Dinner Menu
November 24, 2008

Starters
Cheese and Antipasto Plate – 8
(local salami, cheeses, various pickles & marinated olives)
House Made Meatballs – 4
(served with roasted red pepper aioli)

Salads
Small – 4     Large – 7
Artichoke Salad (mixed greens, served with dried cranberries, red onion, and avocado with a roasted garlic artichoke dressing)
Side Salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, red onions, and balsamic vinaigrette.)

Entrees
Green Plate Special – 8
(roasted butternut squash & apple soup, served with a
croissant & mixed greens)

Roasted Garlic Lasagna – 8
(served with roasted brussel sprouts)

All Missouri Beef Hot Dog – 8
(served on a Black Bear Bun with grainy mustard, mayonnaise, onion, cole slaw, pickles, hot green chilis, roasted red peppers)

Pizzas – 8
Simple Pizza  (tomato sauce, mozzarella, roasted peppers)
Athena (roasted garlic oil, olives, roasted red peppers, and feta)

Dessert
Brownies, Raspberry Chocolate Bars, Apple Spice Cake – 2
Four Seasons Sweet Quick Bread – 4

this weekend marked the true beginning of the season for us at Local Harvest.

yesterday, we saw wonderful participation in this year’s cranksgiving. thanks to everyone that loaded up their bags and rode for charity.

we have stocked our new prepared foods cooler with ready-to-bake stuffing, cranberry sauce, and soups.

we finally got in our beautiful, fresh, free range turkeys yesterday…so if you ordered one – we have it ready for you.

we got in Joy Stinger’s lovely beeswax candles for a clean burning light at your Thanksgiving dinner, or decorative squash to liven up the table.

we have everything you need to make your holiday pies, including pie crust (even whole wheat), pie filling, spices, and cream for whipping.

Heartland has dropped off their delicious eggnog, and we have marshmallows and organic sweet potatoes.

and, of course, don’t forget our cold beer and imported wines – perfect for putting the festive into this time of year. (pictures coming soon!)

remember, it’s best when you do it local.

-clara

once i discovered high quality chocolate in culinary school, it was pretty much dark chocolate only from then on out. i like the bitter and bold flavor of a high percentage chocolate. not a hersey’s milk chocolate bar or milky way passed my lips – milk chocolate equaled inferior (boy, i can be a snob).

well that is what i thought until recently, when we got milk chocolate into the store. in this form:

“this ain’t your average hersey bar…” said my friend.

this crispy little bar is sweetened with fair trade sugar and filled with crunchy rice. boy, how i have missed the smooth creaminess of milk chocolate…

tasting notes:

-sweet, but not too sweet. some may say ‘perfectly sweet.’

-i taste a hint of coconut, followed by the soft pudding flavor.

-the texture is perfectly yielding, till you reach a crisped rice – which is, in contrast, offers toothsome resistance.

so, in case you were wondering : this girl gives it a “very highly recommended.”

-clara

Dinner Menu
November 22, 2008

Starters
Cheese and Antipasto Plate – 8
(local salami, cheeses, various pickles & marinated olives)
House Made Meatballs – 4
(served with roasted red pepper aioli)

Salads
Small – 4     Large – 7
Autumn Salad (mixed greens, spinach, apples, goat cheese,
sliced almonds with balsamic vinaigrette.)
Side Salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, red onions, and balsamic vinaigrette.)

Entrees
Green Plate Special – 8
(roasted butternut squash & apple soup, served with a
croissant & mixed greens)

Roasted Garlic Lasagna – 8
(served with roasted brussel sprouts)

Quarter Baked Chicken – 9
(served with roasted brussel sprouts, roasted beets, and roasted potatoes)

Pizzas – 8
Simple Pizza  (tomato sauce, mozzarella, roasted peppers)
Athena (roasted garlic oil, olives, roasted red peppers, and feta)

Dessert
Brownies, Raspberry Chocolate Bars, Apple Spice Cake – 2
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing – 3

Dinner Menu
November 21, 2008

Starters
Cheese and Antipasto Plate – 8
(local salami, cheeses, various pickles & marinated olives)
Marinated Olives – 4

Salads
Small – 4     Large – 7
Autumn Salad (mixed greens, spinach, apples, goat cheese,
sliced almonds with balsamic vinaigrette.)
Side Salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, red onions, and balsamic vinaigrette.)

Entrees
Green Plate Special – 8
(roasted butternut squash & potato soup, served with a
Grilled gruyere cheese sandwich & mixed greens)

Mac-n-Cheese-n-Cauliflower – 8
(served with napa caggabe slaw)

Autumn Potato – 7
(baked potato with cheese sauce, roasted cauliflower, crumbled bacon, served with roasted beets)

Pizzas – 8
Simple Pizza  (tomato sauce, mozzarella, roasted peppers)
Athena (roasted garlic oil, olives, roasted red peppers, and feta)

Dessert
Brownies, Raspberry Chocolate Bars, Apple Spice Cake – 2
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing – 3

Last night’s screening of the documentary Homegrown (part of the St. Louis International Film Festival) filled me with excitement, possibility, hope, and amazement. Homegrown tells the story of the Dervaes family and their urban homestead. They grow over 6500lbs of produce on a 1/5 of an acre at their home in Pasadena, CA.

The family also uses solar power, makes their own bio-diesel, has chickens for eggs, a couple of goats for compost and manure, uses their home as learning center for area schools, and sells their produce to local restaurants and catering businesses. One of the wonderful things about this family of four (dad and his three kids who are now adults) is that they constantly challenge themselves to see what is possible–how much more food can they grown, how can they be more self-sufficient, how can they best share their knowledge….the list goes on.

I was excited to think about my own backyard and what might be possible there. My friend and neighbor Anita went with me and we joked about busting out the fence that separates our yards so we could really do some damage! Several of the things they do were beyond my current comprehension–washing clothes by hand, manufacturing bio-diesel and even eschewing electric appliance like blenders, food processors and microwaves in favor of hand operated appliances. They are the real deal.

Check out their website www.pathtofreedom.com I’m dreaming of getting a copy of the video and having a viewing party at the cafe one night. Fun?

Lets hear it for real mavericks.

-Maddie

Dinner Menu
November 20, 2008

Starters
Cheese and Antipasto Plate – 8
(local salami, cheeses, various pickles & marinated olives)
Marinated Olives – 4

Salads
Small – 4     Large – 7
Autumn Salad (mixed greens, spinach, apples, goat cheese,
sliced almonds with balsamic vinaigrette.)
Side Salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, red onions, and balsamic vinaigrette.)

Entrees
Green Plate Special – 8
(roasted butternut squash & potato soup, served with a
croissant & mixed greens)

Autumn Plate – 8
(gratin of ham, potatoes, gruyere cheese, with mixed
greens & croissant)

Autumn Potato – 7
(baked potato with cheese sauce, roasted cauliflower, crumbled bacon, served with mixed greens)

Pizzas – 8
Simple Pizza  (tomato sauce, mozzarella, roasted peppers)
Roasted Garlic (roasted garlic & peppers, olive oil, mozzarella)

Dessert
Chocolate Bread Pudding with Blue Heron Ambrosia – 5
Brownies, Raspberry Chocolate Bars, Apple Spice Cake – 2
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing – 3