Breakfast: Watermelon, half of an oatmeal raisin cookie from Durham Farmers’ Market and one small coffee (sorry, but I indulged, don’t hate me).
Lunch: Grass-fed beef burger topped with Chapel Hill Creamery Cheese. Cucumber, Tomato and Basil Salad.
Snack: Watermelon.
Dinner: Ginny Hash (see recipe). Corn on the cob.
I totally had a small cup of coffee today. Worse yet, it came from Starbucks. I know, I know, I know. But seriously, for the past seven days I haven’t slipped once. I’ve ignored the cakes, burgers, popcorn and cupcakes at two baby showers and a Durham Bulls game. I’ve turned a blind eye to the the pastas, pizzas and cupcakes that my boyfriend has eaten in front of me. And today, I just went for it. And let me tell you, that small coffee was the best coffee in recent memory. It was so good. I’m sorry if I let you down by downing the java, but “I just needed a little pick me up.” (geez, I sound like Kit from “Pretty Woman” … bonus points to any readers get that reference).
I ignored all of this food at my boss' baby shower Friday. We had a separate baby shower on Monday and I ignored cupcakes too.
Food wise, I haven’t slipped. Not even once. Every bite of food I’ve consumed in the past seven days has come from the Farmers’ Market, with the exception of some spices and condiments. And, you know what? I’m loving it. Seriously, there’s something empowering about choosing your food, knowing where it comes from, chopping it up yourself and devouring it. For those of you who already do this, you’re probably rolling your eyes. But anyone who is like me … the type of person who will jump at a chance to eat out if it means avoiding messing up the kitchen … will recognize that this is a true food awakening for me.
Tonight I had the most amazing concoction, made entirely of local food. I’m learning that if you only want to cook what’s in season locally without adding any real outside ingredients, then you have to get creative. I’m going to call it Ginny Hash! Sounds risque, doesn’t it? Really it was just this:
* 3/4 potato, shredded
* 1/4 small red onion, chopped
* 1/2 Tbsp. Margarine (sorry, not from Farmers’ Market)
Fry on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, flipping half way through. Then dice it up and fry it for another 5 minutes.
* In separate frying pan combine 1/2 zucchini and 1/4 red onion chopped with olive oil. Fry until cooked.
* In separate frying pan combine 1/3 lb. grass fed ground beef with your favorite hot sauce (I used a curry-based hot sauce that I love). Add one slice of farm fresh bacon and fry until crispy. Chop bacon piece up and stir bits into beef.
Mix all of the above ingredients on a plate, grate 1 Tbsp. of local cheese over the top and enjoy!
If you follow my directions you should end up with something looks like this:
"Ginny Hash" is good for all occasions: breakfast, lunch or dinner.
And it’s truly wonderful.
Breakfast: farm fresh bacon, egg over medium and bakery bread. Plum.
Lunch: Bacon, Tomato and Cheese sandwich.
Dinner: Grass-fed beef tacos with cheese, yogurt, tomatoes, banana peppers? (not sure what kind of pepper this is, looks like a banana pepper, but it’s sweet and not spicy).
Dessert: Oatmeal raisin cookie from Durham Farmers’ Market.
Breakfast: Nothing. I slept until noon, so I didn’t need breakfast.
Lunch: Grass-fed beef burger on white bakery bread.
Dinner: White bakery bread layered with crumbled ground chuck, homemade pasta sauce and mozzarella from Chapel Hill Creamery.
I called my mom six times today for help. The first time, I wanted to know the difference between ground chuck and ground beef (ground chuck is a better cut, less fatty, she said). The second time I wanted more advice on how to make homemade pasta sauce (would coring the tomatoes before I blanched them make them lose flavor in the boiling water, I asked … she said no). After that it was out of control.
Question: How long should I simmer my tomatoes?
Mom: Until their rendered into sauce … you’ll just know. It’ll take a while. (90 minutes it turns out).
Question: What seasoning am I missing, because the sauce doesn’t taste quite right?
Mom: You need onions, basil, garlic, salt and oregano.
Me: I don’t have any oregano.
Mom: Well, that’s probably why it doesn’t taste right. Also, if it tastes too bitter add sugar.
Me: OK.
And on, and on.
Sometimes my mom is better than Google. I’ll take her feedback from 50+ years of life experiences over some whacko on Yahoo Answers any day.
Anyway, I was attempting to make eggplant parmeasan. But after starting my first batch of pasta sauce, I realized I didn’t have enough tomatoes. So I made an emergency trip to the State Farmers Market and spent $18.69 on three pounds of tomatoes, squash, a red onion, two lemons and BACON!
My homemade pasta sauce wasn't pretty, but once I finished it, it sure was good.
I came home and finished my pasta sauce, which took two hours and didn’t look pretty, but it was delicious. So fresh. The onions (scallions and red onions) were a perfect touch. I was ready to fry up my eggplant for eggplant parmesan, so I sliced the perfect purple body and decided to take a bite. It was really bitter, which I expected based on what I’ve read. But what I didn’t expect was for my tongue, throat and mouth to start itching almost instantly. I called my mom and she said I was probably allergic. Turns out she’s allergic to eggplant too.
My tweep @JohnHinnant said it could be because I ate it raw and that you should only eat eggplant cooked. But after that experience, there was no way I was going to fry up that eggplant. Four hours later, and my throat and tongue are still itchy. Turns out I’m not alone on the itchy eggplant thing. Google (not my mom) pointed me to this blog, NotEatingOutinNY.com, where the blogger talks about experiencing the same issue.
I had to figure out what I was going to eat. I asked my boyfriends if I could make pasta … and he said technically it would be against my rules. But there was no way I was wasting that pasta sauce.
My meat, sauce, cheese bread.
So I improvised. I sliced up some of my white bakery bread, topped it with some fried ground chuck, pasta sauce and mozzarella from Chapel Hill Creamery. Then I put it in the broiler for a few minutes and voila — a filling, flavorful meal.
No, if only my tongue would stop itching.
Breakfast: One peach. Oatmeal Raspberry Bar, bought at the Durham Farmers’ Market.
Lunch: Grilled cheese and tomatoes, featuring cheese from the Chapel Hill Creamery and bread from a baker at the Durham Farmers’ Market.
Dinner: Nothing. So, I actually got pretty sick after eating my big grilled cheese sandwich. Not sure if it’s because my body rejected it because I ate veggies for three days prior or if it’s because I took a nap right after I ate it. But no matter what, I definitely am not feeling well tonight. 
I was like a kid in a candy store at the Durham Farmers’ Market this morning. I was starving and pretty much out of food from my paltry Tuesday shopping trip. My eyes lit up when I saw a sandwich dry erase board advertising steak and chops.
The Durham Farmers' Market was packed at 9 a.m. Saturday.
I ignored the Farmers’ Market advice I’ve heard about scoping out what’s available before making final purchases and immediately bought a Sirloin tip from Meadow Lane Beef. The Market had only been open for an hour and the filet and a few other selections were already crossed off the board. I had to act quick. And it’s a good thing I did, I scored the last sirloin tip they had. I think I paid $16 for the 1.3 pound piece of beef.
I have no idea how I’m going to prepare it. But according to Meadow Lane Beef’s very cute website, grass-fed beef has high protein and low fat levels. That means my steak will need about 30 percent less cooking time. There are a bunch of great tips on cooking grass-fed beef on their site, so I’m really glad I jotted down their URL. I also bought up a pound of ground chuck and a pound of ground beef, so I’ll keep that in my freezer as the weeks wear on so I always have some meat to turn to.
If you have any recipe ideas or cooking suggestions for my meat, please let me know.
Durham’s Farmers’ Market is like a mini festival. Shoppers were serenaded by a violinist. Three local chefs squared off in the 2nd Anual Chef Challenge, each using their own special ingredients to turn squash into something delectable. “The State of Things” host Frank Stasio emceed the challenge. I left before they handed out samples, but I loved that the market featured more than food vendors. You could buy a hand-turned wooden bowls. There was handmade soaps. You could even get your bike tuned up.
The side show: A local chef cook off.
Bonus: I ran into one of my blog readers! I’m sorry, I don’t remember her name (give me a shout out in the comments if you like). But she came up to me and said “are you the blogger …” and it made me so happy to know that it’s not just my mom and tweeps reading my blog. I really don’t think I could truly stick to this quest if I didn’t have support, encouragement and advice from my readers. So thank you all sooooooo much!
I spent $97 at the market today. As you can see, I splurged on some rich cheeses and yogurt from Chapel Hill Creamery. I also bought two loaves of bread, plenty of veggies, and the most beautiful blackberries I’ve ever seen in my life ($5 for a pint). I also bought some oatmeal raisin cookies and an oatmeal raspberry bar, which I ate for breakfast!
I spent $97 at the Durham Farmers' Market.
I’m feeling really encouraged about my project now that I have a wider variety of food. I’m hoping to make some eggplant parmesean soon. I called my mom to find out how to make homemade tomato sauce, so I plan to try that tomorrow. I may also make a trip to the State Farmers Market tomorrow to pick up a few miscellaneous items I didn’t grab at the Durham market.
I also interviewed a farmer about organic farming, and I’ll be posting her feedback soon. So if you’ve ever wondered what’s so special about organic veggies, I’ve got you covered.
Also, I created a Flickr set with my Farmers’ Market photos. You can see more here.
Breakfast: Watermelon.
Lunch: Banana bread and apple butter (I’m so over this, I’m never going to want banana bread again). Guacomole. And a beach.
Dinner: One mashed potato. One sliced cucumber.
Snack: Watermelon
I knew today was going to be so hard. My vegetable drawer was nearing empty, and I had to go to a baby shower where I knew there would be mini burgers and cake. More than once I wondered: “What would be the harm in having a piece of cake at my boss’ baby shower?” But if I cheat on Day three, then what’s the point of this journey?
Somehow I resisted chowing down on the baby shower goodness.
Besides, I have something big to look forward to tomorrow — The Durham Farmers’ Market. I haven’t been to Durham’s market since it moved from a parking lot to its new home at Durham Central Park. Sounds like I’ll have no problem scoring meats, cheeses and maybe some baked goods. I hope so. This week has been rough.
I started this project hastily because I knew if I didn’t start it quickly, I would lose momentum and never fully commit myself to it. As a result, I’ve had to endure some pretty bland meals. Tonight I had one mashed potato, a sliced cucumber and some watermelon. Then I went to a Durham Bulls game, where I had to ignore the funnel cake grease wafting through the concession cooridor.
After the ballgame, I went to Barnes and Noble to try to find some of the cookbooks my blog followers have suggested. I was looking for either Deborah Madison’s “Local Flavors: Cooking & Eating from America’s Farmer’s Markets” or “Simply in Season” by Mary Beth Lind. Of course, in true B&N style, they didn’t have what I wanted so I settled for the “Southern Living Farmers Market Cookbook: A Fresh Look at Local Flavor.” I’m eager to pick out a few recipes before I leave for the Durham market in the morning.
When I was checking out, I ran into one of my tweeps. I’ve only met @isabisa once before, but we both immediately recognized each other. After exchanging hellos, she declared that my project has been inspiring her because she’s only been to the farmers’ market a few times too. Her comment made my day of resisting mini burger and funnel cake temptation totally worth it. Thanks, Alisa, you inspired me too!
And, hopefully, some fresh, local bacon is in my future.
BTW, I’m sharing random updates on facebook too.
Breakfast: Cantalope and trailmix. I’m officially out of cantalope now.
Lunch: Banana bread with apple butter (again). Two peaches.
Dinner: Mashed potatoes and cucumber salad.
Snack: Juicy watermelon … though it wasn’t as sweet as I would’ve liked. I need to learn more about picking out a ripe watermelon.
Believe me, I know these are pretty plain meals. It’s all because of my fail of a shopping trip. But I plan to do a better job this weekend and actually dive into some recipes.
