6.15.2010

farm to table...




tonight's meal was made entirely from farmers market ingredients. simple, seasonal, scrumptious. inspired by the first "magic 8 ball" squash to appear at the market this year (the squash were $2/pound--i bought 3.5 pounds). what was inside? pasture-raised pork sausage ($7/pound), an organic heirloom tomato ($1), feta cheese made from the milk of pastured goats (we used half of a $6 brick) and 2 cloves of garlic (10 cents?). plus a bit of salt and pepper from the pantry.

sometimes it's hard to swallow the cost of pasture-raised, hormone-free meat & dairy. i often come home from the market with my head spinning over just how much money i've spent. when we use what we buy in this way, though--as an accompaniment instead of as a main attraction--the overall cost really comes down. i estimate that this batch of food comes in at around $3 a serving. not too ridiculous, especially for good, healthy food that hasn't traveled the globe. what do you think?

on an semi-related note, flowers have appeared on our many squash plants! it's taking all my willpower not to pick them for frying but to let them produce actual squash instead. patience can be difficult!

4 comments:

Cristina said...

wow, that looks and sounds delicious!

Not There Yet said...

As I was preparing our dinner last night, I said to my husband, How lucky we are! To have plentiful and fresh food. Seem you had that kind of evening too.

Anonymous said...

I'm totally jealous of this meal. We don't have much local produce yet here in New England. I must admit that I've never seen an 8 ball squash, but they look fantastic.

kristen f said...

Just discovered a local farmers market, in a barn, open all week long, only 3 miles from mi casa, featuring locally grown foods, and they take credit cards! Woo hoo! And, the prices are cheaper than the grocery store. As it should be, right?! Tell me, if we are not paying to ship the goods across the world then why is local usually so much more $$$?

Today I grabbed potatoes, garlic, and onions (picked yesterday!). Take that, Safeway. I too will happily be supplementing.