100 Mile cuisine club

Spring

2008-06-14T22:47:00.011-06:00

Appetizers

Tomato, basil and mozzarella skewers with homemade crackers*
* Crackers made from homemade lard (you go, Diane!)
Potato skins with feta, double smoked bacon and chives
Battered and fried prairie oysters (harvested by Gwen!)

Main course

Sourdough bread (flour from Highwood Crossing)
Spinach with honey & roasted pepper dressing
Beef Kabobs with Gull Lake cherry tomatos, eggplant and onion

Dessert

Prairie Sky Rhubarb Crisp with Cheater* ice cream

Drinks

King Arthur's Dry Mead from Chinook Arch Meadery
Mint tea
Walker's Own Apple Juice
Big Rock and Wildrose beer

Winter - February

2008-06-14T22:33:00.009-06:00

This was, by far, the hardest month. It was surprising how hard it was to find things, yet still a lot of variety beyond potatoes and beef!

BBQ Naan bread (cooked on BBQ)
Cream cheese (with curry powder - this is when the 'less than a teaspoon doesn't count' rule came into play;)
Roast beef with yorkshire pudding
Roast parsnips and carrots
Quinoa with pickles and antipasto
Scalloped potatoes
Berries (saskatoon and raspberries) on pound cake

October -Thanksgiving

2008-06-14T22:24:00.002-06:00

Fall Menu

Appetizer- chicken and rosemary sausage and Sylvan Star Gouda (smoked and regular)
Turkey from Bowden Farms
Saskatoon berry bread stuffing (Bernie's Bread from Cochrane)
Gravy made with Highwood flour
Kelly's garden squash soup (grown from seed in her garden)
Roasted potatoes (seasoned with thyme and rosemary)
Saskatoon tart
Pumpkin pie

First entree

2007-09-17T20:57:00.001-06:00

This blog chronicles our experiences, stories, recipes, discoveries from our experiments with eating within a 100 mile radius. For those blessed to be in California, or Oregon, or Florida, or even eastern Canada, this may not seem like a big deal. We, however, are located smack dab in the middle of the prairies, in cow town. Not satisfied to eat just wheat and beef, we decided to embark on an experiment - 4 meals, 4 seasons, 8 people.

We were inspired by the book the 100 mile diet - the chronicles of a year of eating locally, by a Vancouver couple. Hah - that's no challenge at all compared to our 4 meals. The prairies, you might recall, was considered to be an agricultural wasteland - and, in some cases, rightly so - given that we're one of the few semi arid ecosystems in Canada.

Extreme localism, you say? Nut cases? Perhaps - but we consider ourselves intrepid travellers into the delicacies of prairie eatin'. Bull testicles, anyone? (okay - shot down by Kelly)

Summer Menu: July 28th, 2007

Filtered water infused with mint leaves
Grilled zucchini and tomato with gouda
Garden fresh salad topped with Nasturium flowers (buttermilk basil dressing)
Elk ravioli
Tarragon chicken
Saskatoon Rhubard Pie
Wild Rose and Big Rock Beer
Saskatoon Berry Wine
Lemon Verbena Tea

Successes:
Getting creative with what you can find in your own backyard (literally) and chatting up the local producers at the Farmer's Market.
Finding a local source of wheat and organic to boot at Highwood Crossing Farms.
Enthusiasm and sharing what we found.
Comraderie!

Challenges:
No salt or pepper. One pal joked that she traded for salt with Tibetan nomads.
Being as authentic as possible.
Trying to make a dressing without vinegar or lemon or mayonaisse.

Next meal - Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey has already been ordered!

* Okay, there are some things that we just couldn't do without or find within 100 miles, even 500 miles. This was the glocal part of the meal (global and local)