Winter Squash

Winter squash is ready to pick. Visit Taste the Local Difference for recipes and more.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Mmm, mmm. Check out this Sweet Potato Gnocchi from A Matter of Taste in Charlevoix.

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Ready to Pick Green Beans

Green beans are ready to pick, and Janice Benson at the Michigan Land Use Institute shares info and recipes, including Green Bean Bake Revisited. One of my favorite ways to prepare green beans is to blanche them, saute some sliced shallots in olive oil, then mix all together with toasted slivered almonds.

North Meets South - August ‘08 Dinner Club

August Dinner Club for eight features Caribbean Menu with *up north ingredients: Spice-Rubbed Pork Loin with Jalapeno-Lime Salsa, Viola's Corn and Hazelnut Spoon Bread, Mesclun Salad with Jalapeno Orange Cream, Starfruit Nutted Rice with Raisons, Curried Long Beans, Almond Fruit Tart with Lemon Cream

*denotes local food substitute in recipes

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Ready to Pick Summer Squash

It's summer squash time. Check out the Taste the Local Difference website for recipes, tips and info.

What’s In a Chard?

All you ever wanted to know about chard. Check out Sally Ketchum's Record Eagle column "In the Kitchen: The truth about chard." Sheds a whole new light on this often disliked veggie. The Chard/Feta Torte sounds delicious, can't wait to try it.

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CSA week 5 (1/2 share)

and the greens keep coming ...

For the veggie-impaired: 1) mustard greens (top left) 2) garlic scapes (top middle) 3) red leaf lettuce (top right) 4) mizuna greens (middle left) 5) green onions (middle) 6) bok choy (middle right) 7) snap peas (bottom left) 8) cilantro (bottom right).

and in support of the 'celebrating northern michigan ...' theme, I have posted this video from the 3rd of July ... enjoy!

Ready for Radishes

Radishes are coming up now, and if you typically avoid them altogether, or just slice them on salads, check out these resources to expand your radish repertoire!

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Plugging a locavore lifestyle

Just came across this great article by Nancy Krcek Allen in the Record-Eagle, titled Make a 'Locavore's Holiday': buy local.

"I woke to the knowledge that my chef colleagues and I are merely window dressing. It's the farmers and growers who should be lauded superstars with their own television shows," writes Allen, who's been a chef and culinary educator for 16 years. "But farming isn't sexy. This holiday season I cast my food dollar vote with my neighbor-growers."

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Don’t Like Swiss Chard - Try This!

The swiss chard is ripe and abundant this time of year, but getting people to eat and like it is sometimes a challenge. This Bright Lights Chard Gratin is a hit with my household. It was adapted from a recipe included in a favorite cookbook we've been using for a few years, Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating From America's Farmers' Markets by Deborah Madison.

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Spaghetti Squash

Here are a few ideas for spaghetti squash. The squash is low in calories, just 42 per cup, and is filling and nutritious. It also freezes well, so you can pack cooked squash in freezer bags for later use. Many folks add a tomato sauce to enjoy this winter squash. My mom makes a great recipe "Spaghetti Squash with Cheese." But my favorite recipe is the simplest by far! Do you have any favorite ways to prepare spaghetti squash?

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What to do with that cabbage?

When picking up my produce from Sweeter Song this week, a fellow shareholder wondered what ELSE to do with green cabbage. Thought I'd post this simple recipe that I've enjoyed for Stir-Fried Green Cabbage with Fennel Seeds, from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking. Delicious!

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A Few Family Favorites

Over the years these recipes have become some of our family favorites. As the season ends I can always find the green beans, peppers, eggplant and zucchini at the local farmers' market. The recipes have come from various people and places.

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Maggie Long - A Meal Inspired by the Garden’s Bounty

Maggie Long, group chef for Mission Management, presented this delicious menu to a full house at the Epicurean Classic Friday afternoon. Her career includes cooking for such fine restaurants as Stafford's Bay View Inn and The Moveable Feast in Ann Arbor. Notice all of the ingredients used that you can get right from your own garden or CSA. The menu celebrates end-of-summer flavors, Maggie explained, and she grouped foods that she thought sounded good together. The recipes aren't available elsewhere, but she readily agreed to share them on Up North Foodies. Thanks Maggie!

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