I’ve had a few pounds of locally grown Colorado beans in my freezer since last October, when I bought them at a fall farmer’s market from a Greeley family farm. As you may remember, dear reader, I was gearing up for my three week Eat Local Challenge back then, ecstatic to find local beans to…
The Donut Chronicles: grain free, gluten free, vegan + 3 delicious variations
It has been a heart jumping joy to be able to eat donuts again. I’ve been gluten free for 13 years now, and I think I’ve tried just one box of GF donuts in that time. So it’s been a long, long stretch of donut-less barren breakfasts, until a few months ago when I came…
GF Fresh Fennel Picnic Cake with Lemon Marscapone Frosting
Ah, the warm, green days of summer … I remember you well and am hankering for your return! I began this post in the explosion of that green and expansive energy, thrilled to have inherited a community garden plot with volunteer FENNEL sprouting up and maturing several plants plus an absolutely prodigious number of seeds….
Gratitude, New Year’s Sunrise, and a marvelous platter of leftovers
Wishing you all, and all beings, a night and life with warmth, security, love and Light. Happy New Year! Last year I started a new tradition – getting out and up to view new year’s day sunrise from Horsetooth Reservoir, in the Colorado foothills just minutes from my home. This second “first light” watching the…
Quinoa Flour Pumpkin & Chocolate Bread
I’ve been having a grand time testing this beautiful bread with different flour blends, and to me, this quinoa flour version creates the best: a fabulous, nutty bread with lovely, cake-like texture. The added bonus is grinding the quinoa flour myself, in my trusty coffee grinder. (I grind mine on the “fine” grind option, twice….
Reflections on #EatLocalChallenge : Day 21
Thanks to Slow Food International‘s 3 week #EatLocal challenge, I have become so much more connected to the community where I live, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. We live just east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, here, at 4900 some odd feet above sea level, in the north eastern part of the state. As…
Eat Local Challenge : Honey Caramel Fried Pear and Elderberry Tart with Glass Gem Cornmeal Crust
Eat Local Challenge : October 31 : An inspiration of dessert desire and these ingredients led me to create this honey caramel fried pear and foraged elderberry tart with Glass Gem cornmeal crust – rustic! Local! Copoco’s local honey, Ela Family Farms pears, foraged elderberries from Fort Collins, I grew the beautiful Glass Gem corn…
Eat Local Challenge : Foraged Fruit Poached Pears with Lemon Verbena Creme Anglaise
What a delight to combine these lovely Ela Family Farms pears with sour Montmorency cherries, elderberries, dried Stanley plums and local honey in a poaching syrup that is rosy and inviting! And then, infuse dried lemon verbena from my own garden this summer – in raw cow’s milk from Taft Hill Dairy, thicken the custard…
Eat Local Challenge : Grilled Corn and Chevre Stuffed Poblano Chilies
Slow Food International’s Eat Local Challenge continues and I am getting caught up on my posts! Going to the Farmer’s Market down town Fort Collins, Colorado was even sweeter as I encountered this amazing mural just across the street. The autumn mood was definitely present and influencing my choices for dinner that evening. There’s a…
Day 7 : Eat Local Challenge : Colorado Bison and Apple Stew Pommeau
Day 7 of my three week Eat Local Challenge via Slow Food International held a special excitement. My son, a big city foodie in his own right, was driving up to join me for his first dinner during the challenge, and was excited to eat some good local grub. I wanted the menu to incorporate…
Day 4 : Eat Local Challenge : Pumpkin Flan with Honey Caramel and Salted Pumpkin Seeds
No way to resist – at least for me – this light and lovely pumpkin flan! It goes down easy, very willingly! after a spicy meal. I’m on a 3 week Eat Local Challenge via Slow Food International, and this dessert featured on Day Four night in my kitchen. All who are on the…
Day Three : Eat Local Challenge : Glass Gem Cornmeal Pancakes and Elderberry Honey Syrup
Launching into Day Three of the Eat Local Challenge and the breakfast I made has brought me the most joy so far on this three week (and probably beyond) ride! These sweet stacks of silver dollar pancakes began their history in 2013, when I grew the magical Glass Gem corn in our garden on the…
Day Two : Eat Local Challenge : Raw Milk Butter Making and Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
Day Two of my Eat Local Challenge! It began with a cup or two of that delicious locally roasted Columbian Peritus Coffee, then – a totally local vegetable frittata. Let me back up and just remind you that – for three weeks beginning October 16, I have taken the plunge to eat local foods for…
Eat Local Challenge – Three Weeks of Deliciousness Began Today in My Colorado Kitchen
The last two days I’ve spent reveling in the Colorado autumn sun and gold, and singlemindedly gathering the following amazing goods, preparing my kitchen, heart and belly for three weeks (at least) of Eat Local planning, discovering, selecting, more planning, creating, cooking and eating amazing food grown in, near or very close to Fort Collins,…