100MileFoodChallenge

Dining locally in Winter

2009-02-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

Last week was my husband’s and my 30th wedding anniversary. We might have gone on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate, but John decided to surprise me with a stay closer to home at the Black Walnut Guest House in Sturgeon Bay (www.blackwalnut-gh.com). He knew this would be a good fit for us, because, as we try to live sustainably, we are assured that the Black Walnut is also striving for sustainability, being a Travel Green Wisconsin business (www.travelgreenwisconsin.com). Some of the best green practices proprietors Geri Ballard and Mike Shatusky include are use of only non-toxic and biodegradable cleaning and landscaping products, recycling, and minimization of disposable products. A note on the wall in the bathroom states that if we feel we can reuse a towel, we can hang it back up on the rack. Towels left on the floor are fair game for the laundry worker. This practice saves water and energy and reduces the Black Walnut’s contribution to pollution and global warming.

What a surprise to learn that a romantic dinner for two at the Black Walnut was planned for us. This was a very special arrangement, because the dinner needed to accommodate my commitment to the 100-mile Food Challenge that I have been following since mid-June of last year. To find local ingredients for a five course meal in February could be daunting to most cooks, but Judy Samida and Guy Fortin, the chefs hired to cater the meal, are savvy about local supplier. They also have been following the local foods guidelines in their own shopping and eating behaviors. Following is the menu which was cooked in the Black Walnut kitchen and served to us beautifully presented in our private dining room by Guy in full tuxedo.

Appetizers – cherry juice, onion and sun-dried tomato tartlets
Squash ravioli in a béchamel sauce with hickory nuts
Spinach and onion salad with hot bacon dressing and dried cherries. This was garnished with heart-shaped croutons made with Washington Island wheat flour.
Pork tenderloin and potato/asparagus gratin.
Dessert was a strawberry/raspberry sorbet with whipped cream and more dried cherries.

Guy and Judy introduced innkeeper, Geri, to Amy Stich of Cherrydale Farm on County P, Sturgeon Bay. Amy has been supplying 100-mile Food Challenge participants with fresh salad greens, spinach, and eggs during the winter months. She also has stored some of her produce, such as carrots and potatoes, garlic and onions, and these are also currently available for sale at Cherrydale Farm. Geri shopped at Cherrydale Farm to provide us with a beautiful local foods breakfast. Geri said, “It was fun and I enjoy being creative”. Here is the breakfast menu Geri devised.

Carrot/apple juice
Honeycrisp apple parfait with cherry syrup and cream
Cheese omelet with shallots and greens
Roasted fingerling potatoes

I was personally thrilled with the whole experience. There is no need to consider living sustainably, including making a commitment to eating local foods, a hardship. We can live well and do good to the environment at the same time.

Suppliers:

Hyline Orchard, Fish Creek (cherry juice, apples, dried cherries)
(920) 868-3067, http://www.hylineorchardfarmmarket.com/

Cherrydale Farm, Sturgeon Bay (spinach, eggs, carrots, potatoes)
(920) 743-5546, astich@itol.com

Greens N Grains, Egg Harbor (Island wheat flour)
(920) 868-9999, http://www.greens-n-grains.com/

Door County Custom Meats, Sturgeon Bay (pork)
(920) 746-0304, http://www.dcmeats.com/

Roder Farms, Sturgeon Bay (potatoes)
(920) 743-5306

Renard’s Cheese, Algoma (cheese, cream)
(920) 487-2825

How about a potluck?

2008-07-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Would all you Challengers (and future possible Challengers or other locavores) be interested in having a potluck to share our bounty? I think it might be fun to get together at one of the parks, to get to know one another and share recipes, great finds...maybe even bring your favorite farmer.

What do you think? Shall we plan for this...maybe toward the end of July?

Is this blog format working for you?

2008-07-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

We're trying this blog format to see if it will serve us well. If you're able to work with it easily -- or if it's not working for you -- please let us hear your comments.

another possibility is a forum-style system, but it's a little more complicated, and also more expensive (this google-blog format is free, which is ideal for a non-profit organization just starting out!).

Please let us hear from you: can you get into the blog comment area all right? (if not, contact info@sustaindoor.org). Can you navigate well enough? Are you getting the information you need? Would you like more information, more diverse, more sortable...or is this format fine for you?

Thanks!!!

Where can I get ______?? (I know, I know!!)

2008-07-01T19:22:00.001-07:00

If anyone wants to know where to get food items, or can help someone else find something, please comment here...

does anyone know where can we get:

vinegar
salami
cranberries
wild rice
oatmeal
oat groats
white flour (for pastries)

Where are you finding your foods?

2008-07-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

thought this might be a good place to start contributing food providers that we've found and enjoy. Ann shared some of her ideas in her previous blog.

Please share your comments about where you're finding good food, ok?

We found some of the best hot dogs (in natural casings) we've ever eaten at Miesfeldt's in Sheboygan...plus really great bologna. I need to find out where they actually get their raw materials, though....hopefully somewhere close.

Pepperoni: a friend gave us a stick from Konop's in Stangelville (near Manitowoc), and they do buy their meats locally. Our friend said Konop's has the best ring bologna he's ever had.

Mushrooms:Field and Forest in Peshtigo: not just mushrooms, but instruction on how to grow them.

Others???

Good local meals? Let's start a list!

2008-07-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

There are so many really great combinations of food....and all right here in Door County. How about let's share meals we've made/eaten/loved....It'd be fun to have a long list....maybe compile them into a recipe book at the end of this year?

Ann mentioned some that she and her daughter have created in the past few days. One we had at our house last night I'd like to share is:

Grilled, bacon-wrapped whitefish (I borrowed this recipe from Jamie Oliver).

4 4-ounce whitefish fillets (caught locally; purchased from Bearcats in Algoma); remove skin, cut into 2" wide pieces; sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and finely chopped fresh tarragon from the garden.
Place the fillets on strips of salty smoked bacon (locally grown pig, purchased at the county fair last August)
Fry the wrapped fillets in an oven-safe sautee pan, drizzled with Wisconsin-grown canola oil until brown on one side; then bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Served with fresh peas (from Malvitz's on County C) and fresh pea pods (from the garden), slightly steamed.

Pile peas on a bed of freshly made angelhair pasta (made with Washington Island wheat and water...that's it!)

Arrange grilled fish/bacon wraps next to peas/pasta and drizzle fish and all with fresh mayonaisse (eggs also from Malvitz), and garnish with finely chopped lemon balm.

Dessert: homemade vanilla ice cream (honey purchased at Jorn's Sugarbush), and freshly sliced strawberries (again...Malvitz!)

meal total: all local (except a little bit of olive oil on the pasta)

Please, please, please contribute your own loca-dish!!

2008-06-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

Strawberries make me happy this lovely Summer day.

As long as I keep my belly full, which has been quite easy since the beginning of this challenge, I don't crave other foods.

Breakfast is usually good. Thank goodness for local, natural sweeteners such as Maple Syrup and Honey.

Local Food potlucks will be getting better as time passes.

I'll probably miss chocolate soon.

Local food research

2008-06-26T04:57:00.001-07:00

I thought you all might benefit from the research I have done to find local foods. I think it is a good idea to include my dead ends, as well as successes, so that you don't need to go through the same process.

Butter: Buttercup brand is made by Pine River Dairy in Manitowoc. I called them to find out where their milk comes from, and the farthest dairy farm they source from is near Fond du Lac, which, by my calculations, is just inside the 100 mile radius circle. Buttercup is available from Rendard's Cheese for $2.60/lb.

Cream: Call ahead to Renard's to find out if they have cream available. It's not available every day. I'm not sure if the Hwy 57 store has it, but the one on County Road S does. 743-6626

Cheese: Of course Renard's has cheese. They sell many types, some of which they make themselves from milk from about 30 local dairy farms. Renards makes all the cheddar they sell and also Monterey Jack, string cheese, colby, brick, and muenster. I'm not sure about mozzarella, but I know the parmesan they sell is not made by them, and therefore is not made with local milk. Because I really love parmesan, I traced the source back to the dairy that makes it to learn the hard news.

Ice cream: Schopf's dairy farm sells their milk to Land O Lakes which mixes it with milk from farms both inside and outside our Challenge area. Then they ship it to a different facility in De Pere where even more milk from other places is put into the mix. Finally the milk comes back to the Dairy View Country Store where it is made into ice cream. So, no chance for a local product there, though perhaps some of the milk molecules are actually from Schopf's cows. (I have a hard time understanding how this is cost effective, but it must be. Cost effectiveness is the impetus for many of our unsustainable behaviors.)

Hot dogs: The meat eaters in my family are fond of Salmon's hot dogs which are made in Luxemburg. I called them to learn that they get most of their meat from Packerland Packing in Green Bay. A call to Packerland revealed the fact that Salmon's hot dogs are made with meat which comes from any possible place in the country. Too bad. Marchant's in Brussels may have sausages, if not hot dogs, made from local meats. If anyone calls them, please post the results of your research.

Sorghum: I made a new discovery. Mr. Wittgreve of Rolling Meadows Farm in Elkhart Lake grows and processes delicious sorghum syrup. In a cup of hot water with cream, this will replace hot cocoa for my daughter and me this winter. It's also good on fried corn meal mush. $5.00/pint. Rolling Meadows Farm can be reached by calling 920 876-2182.

More research results later,
Ann

So far, so good

2008-06-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

Hello from Locavoreland in Clay Banks,

Sally and I have been managing quite well this first week of the Challenge. We had done some homework and stocking up of food items that are locally grown and processed. For example, we have a 50 pound bag of Roder Farm potatoes, and about 75 pounds of frozen Door County Kraut. We also stopped at the Oneida Nation agricultural community's retail store on our way to the Renewable Energy Fair last week and picked up 20 pounds of white corn flour. On the way home we stopped at Caprine Supreme, a goat dairy in Black Creek, and picked up cheese and yogurt.

Here is a menu of Day One of The Challenge:

Breakfast - roasted corn mush with maple syrup (Cherrydale Farm), cream (Renard's Cheese) and strawberries from my freezer.

Lunch - egg and cheese omelet, applesauce.

Dinner - baked potatoes with goat feta and cream, asparagus, salad.

Yesterday I made bread with Island Wheat flour which I bought at Greens & Grains in Egg Harbor. It is very sustainable bread; a little goes a long way.

The Challenge requires that we exercise our ingenuity. I am very much missing salad dressing. I made a satisfactory dressing by blending cutting celery leaves and walking onion scapes from my garden with cream, salt and paprika.

However, if anyone has a recipe for a salad dressing that uses no oil, I would certainly like to have it. Also, does anyone have a source for local vinegar? I am in the process of making some out of cider from Robertson Orchard, but it takes 4 months. I would like to have some to use in the mean time.

By the way, Kris Robertson told me he still has frozen cider for sale. Call him at 743-1351.

wobbling off to a start

2008-06-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

Day 3: I'm already getting that good dose of reality that our ancestors must have had in starting their new western settlements. I went into this Challenge with eyes wide open...but now without a safety net of grocery stores, I'm realizing this could be even more challenging than I thought. The growing season is late this year, so my pantry is nearly bare: a few jars of tomato sauce and pickles left; a couple pounds of local flour on hand; some venison and whitefish in the freezer. Peas and strawberries are late, cherries won't be available at all, it seems. I can see ahead of me at least two weeks of mostly greens, asparagus, a few of last year's remaining potatoes, and whatever else I can scrounge.

I'm going to try my best to live without that easy net of available grocery store food for this entire next year, seven days a week (except when we are out of town...and except for buying spices, olive oil and coffee!). I spend a lot of time cooking already (it's a passion); but I can see that this will be the year of inventiveness coming to the forefront, and I suspect the kitchen will become more my second home than ever before. I also suspect that I'll be taking my vegetable garden much, much more seriously!!

-Virge

parameters

2008-06-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

Everyone who takes the Door County 100-Mile Food Challenge sets his/her own parameters. Some will decide to eat one locally-sourced meal a week for three months. Others will try to eat only locally grown and processed foods for the entire Challenge year (June 21st, 2008 - June 20th, 2009). I have decided to try to make it through the whole year because I want to test the possibilities of eating well in four seasons. These are the foods I will exempt from my Challenge plan (so far): salt and leavening agents such as yeast and baking powder. I reserve the right to add foods to my list of exemptions as needed to make it through the year in a relative state of health and happiness. For instance, I may decide to add flavorings of one kind or another - vanilla and/or spices - if life gets really dreary. I am also continuing to take a multivitamin (not technically food). What are your parameters?
Ann

A little explanation

2008-06-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

This blog is designed to have quite a few people making contributions. But to start a post you need a password and you need to know how to get to the starting place. Instructions were sent out several weeks ago, but many people didn't keep them. If you would like to be one of those who starts the posts just send an email to sustaindoor@gmail.com or dlea@dcwis.com and you'll get the scoop!
Dave Lea

Anticipating the Challenge

2008-06-06T03:06:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are on the 100-mile food challenge blog! My daughter, Sally, and I have been anticipating the food challenge for months now, imagining what it will be like to eat only local foods. I'll ask Sally to comment for herself, but I'll say that my feelings and thoughts have been many and varied. Everytime I sit down to a meal I think, "Now, which of these things will we be able to eat on our local foods 'diet' in June?" Frankly there have been quite a few meals which wouldn't have yielded much to either sustain or satisfy.
My feelings have ranged from excitement to dread. I have thought about the upcoming strawberry, tomato, and sweet corn seasons with pleasure, and have enjoyed making lists of all the many wonderful foods available within 100-miles. And there have also been instances when I thought, "We're gonna starve!"
We have begun to stock our pantry with preserved local foods. Sally and I froze our asparagus last week. We haven't eaten much fresh; it is prioritized for the freezer in anticipation of June 21st.
Also in our freezer I have squirreled away 10 pounds of whole wheat flour from Washington Island, and 10 pounds of heirloom white corn meal from TsyunhehkwA, the Oneida agricultural community. I still have a few raspberries and strawberries from last year in the freezer. They will hold us over until these things are ripe this summer. Currently, until the Challenge begins, local foods on our shelves are off limits to the family; I am trying instead, to use up things which we will not be able to eat during the Challenge.
I hope other Door County locavores will comment on this blog, share recipes, and research they have done to find local food sources. In future posts I will share some of the contacts with food producers and providers which I have established.
Blessings,
Ann

Take the Challenge

2008-06-05T19:31:00.001-07:00

This blog is to discuss our successes and challenges in eating locally grown and produced foods.