Friday, July 27, 2007

OLS dinner 2007 05

Barbecue!




















One Local Summer 2007, Dinner Menu 05
  • Grilled Summer squash, zucchini and onion (all from our Blooming Glen FarmCSA crop share - 5 miles) marinated in dressing and chopped purple and green basil (Blooming Glen) with grilled tempeh (Cricklewood Soyfoods - 28 miles) smothered in barbecue sauce (DelVal College - 12 miles), on a bed of steamed-then-sauteed beet greens, Swiss chard (Blooming Glen) and garlic (bought at the Skippack Farmers' Market from Jack's Farm - 24 miles). Nonlocal ingredients used: olive oil, and Italian dressing*.
  • Chilled salad of blanched string beans and orange and red tomatoes (Blooming Glen).
  • Sliced peaches (bought at Plumsteadville Natural Foods from a farm in Solebury - 23 miles) and strawberries (Blooming Glen).
  • Butt Monkey Chiller Chimp Ale (Lion Brewery - 84 miles)
*I'm one of those people that always ends up with the leftovers. You know how at the end of a party or a picnic, when things are getting put away, packed up and tossed, and there are always those two or three things that could stay or go? The, "If you don't want it, I'll just throw it away" things? Yeah. That's how I got an industrial-sized bottle of Italian dressing. What can I say? My maternal instincts kick into high gear when I see food being thrown away :)

Barbecue was a One Local Summer dinner that I had stashed away in the back of my mind since I signed up for the challenge. It's something that I knew I would do eventually, but wanted to save for a busy week. Coming down from the Fallingwater trip has pretty much depleted all of my energy this week, so barbecue it was.





















Earlier in the week, I went to Plumsteadville Natural Foods to stock up on local tofu, and at the last minute asked if they carried seitan; specifically, my local Ray's Seitan. I was happy to learn that they did, and when I went to pull it out of the freezer, I saw a row of an unfamiliar tempeh. Knowing that the owners of the store have a special interest in small, regional manufacturers, my heart skipped a beat as I picked up the package. Could it be local? Hell yeah - it was!




















And this is a perfect example of the frustration I have been experiencing in finding local vegan protein sources. Since last year, I've been scouring the internet looking for "tofu in Pennsylvania," "quinoa in Pennsylvania," "Tempeh in Pennsylvania," "amaranth in Pennsylvania," etc., etc., etc., and coming up with nothing. I've spent the last 12 months thinking that southeatern PA is just a dead zone in the way of local vegetable-based protein. It turns out, I'm all wrong. They're out there, but why are they so hard to find? Why aren't these companies listed on the buylocalpa.org website? Better yet, besides Fresh Tofu, why don't Ray's and Crinklewood Soyfoods have a website?

I mean, really. I gotta get on this. I'm going to go write some letters :)

6 comments:

Leslie said...

Mikaela, the neat thing is that now when people Google "Seitan Pennsylvania" they will come right to this post! Great entry

Unknown said...

That looks awesome.

Anonymous said...

Dewd we could make little websites for them using your marketing savvy-ness and all my free time. Hahaha.

:*

Susan from Food Blogga said...

This is awesome--an homage to local eating. I just love the smoky flavor of grilled vegetables, and tempeh must be fantastic grilled. I usually bake or saute mine, so I'll have to try it.

Mikaela said...

Thanks, leslie and naomi :)

L, we sersiously need to get on it!

S, tempeh is fantastic on the grill - my favorite way to eat it, actually :)

Jimmy said...

Tempeh is very delicious. Usually I just steam it for about 10 min, then eat it with some soy sauce as dipping sauce.

Find more info about tempeh via the website:
http://www.tempeh.idv.tw