Spring Frittata: How I Suffer for the Cause

Eating seasonally starts to get exciting right about now; though, if you're not used to it, perhaps a bit daunting.  If your diet has heretofore consisted (as it does for most Americans) of food brought to you on a truck from you-really-don't-know-where and purchased at your average grocery store, you get used to eating the same, say, 5 vegetables (maybe 10 if you're really broad-minded), out of season, with a meager amount of nutrients, all the time.  It's convenient.  It's sort of like food.  And it's beyond bland and boring.  (How's that for alliteration?)  But try eating food grown locally and in season, even for just a month, and the world explodes with possibilities.  It may seem like you're more limited at first (what do you mean there are no tomatoes in May?  What will I put in my salad?), but when you start to branch out of your lettuce/tomato/potato rut, you start to see what I mean.  

First of all, early spring is all about green.  Green, green, green everywhere you look.  The produce stands are filled to buckling with every green-leafy imaginable... and some I'd bet you never (if you're on the aforementioned typical American grocery store diet) tried before in your life.  And, oh, are they worth trying.  I've finally updated our What's in Season Now page.  Go look at the list.  Some of the available produce you'll recognize (fresh green onions, anyone?), but I'll bet there are several you haven't tried.  Not much fruit yet (aside from strawberries and, around here, mulberries!), and the only color you'll see is bright red radishes and the rainbow of colors available in Swiss chard.  Limiting, right?  Yes, and no.  

The trick to really experience seasonal eating is this:  find something in season that you Really Love, eat a crapload of it, and don't stop until it goes away.  Remember, also, to try something new.  You never know what strange seasonal morsel may become a new to-die-for favorite.  Asparagus lovers have been in absolute heaven lately, since this shining gem of Spring is at it's fleeting peak right now.  And, believe me, asparagus in season and picked just hours before  you buy it is absolutely incomparable to the out-of-season grocery store variety.  Love mushrooms?  Some cultivated kinds can be procured all year long (especially if you know a good mushroom grower), but others... go see @ Home with Real Food's recent adventures in morel hunting.   Tell me you aren't intrigued.

In my head, it goes something like this.  "I have eaten so much asparagus... asparagus for breakfast in my omelets, asparagus raw in salad, asparagus sauteed with garlic for dinner... I love asparagus SO much, but if I never see another asparagus again... oh, look!  Blackberries!"  And your off!  Of course, you won't be eating only one thing at a time.  This season I've taken full shameful advantage of all the fresh spring salad greens, asparagus, sauteed collard greens, spinach in everything, green onions (which make for KILLER nachos... I wouldn't lie to you), green garlic (such wonderful, fascinating stuff.  You must try it if you can find it at your nearest farmers' market, though this is a spring delicacy you probably won't see at your average chain grocery store) and the most gorgeous pastured eggs I have ever seen.  I even stumbled upon some goose eggs recently, and quickly snatched them up so Terri would make me some custard!  Still waiting... ;)

To show you a little bit of how I'm "suffering" with all these seasonal "limits" (heh heh), here's the kind of stuff we've been eating.  It's delicious, filling, and works with the budget.

Spring Frittata

Spring Frittata

A frittata, for the 5 people left on this planet who don't know (believe me, I was one of them until a few short years ago), are sort of a compromise between an omelette and a quiche.  You can use any fresh vegetables or cheeses you prefer.  Don't like (or can't have) mushroom?  Leave them out.  Want another way to prepare that succulent asparagus?  Throw some in!  Here's what I did:

 Ingredients
9 eggs

A little glug of milk (like you'd do to make scrambled eggs... just eyeball it)

Two big handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced (Terri - you'll be glad to know these mushrooms met their untimely demise in my mouth... making the world safe for my foodie partner one fungus at a time)

1 small onion, chopped

1 large green garlic, chopped (bulb & stalk - use everything that looks useable)

4 slices bacon

1 c. shredded Swiss cheese

A few dashes of nutmeg

Whisk up your eggs and milk in a bowl (I use a large glass liquid measure, which makes it easy to pour later) and set aside.  In an oven-proof skillet (cast iron or stainless steel with no plastic handles), over medium-high heat, brown the bacon until done and remove, leaving behind the grease.  Wilt the spinach in the bacon grease, then remove that, too (set aside in a bowl for the moment).  You'll see that a lot of spinach wilts down into a little, so in this case more is better.

The spinach I was left with once it wilted

 In the grease that's left (if there's not enough, add a little olive oil), sautee the mushrooms, onion, and green garlic.  Once the mushrooms are soft and the onions are transparent, add the spinach back into the mix and crumble the bacon over all of it.

Sauteed veggies & bacon for frittata - I could eat it just like this

 Next, pour the egg mixture over everything and sprinkle the cheese evenly.  Now's the time to sprinkle your nutmeg over the top, as well.  Preheat the broiler.  Reduce heat under your skillet to medium-low and let cook, uncovered, for approximately 2 minutes until the eggs are set but it's still a little runny on top.  Here's another photo, this one of mine cooking away on the stove top.

Transfer the skillet to the broiler until eggs are no longer runny and slightly browned, another 2 or 3 minutes.  Slice into wedges and serve with one of those fabulous fresh green salads.

We ate every last bite.

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Operation: Feed the Family, Save the Planet, and Don't Go Broke

Garlic Scapes

It’s time to devise a plan.   There are now 3½ weeks until the first farmers' market of the season opens (but who's counting?).  We've got some down time; might as well use it wisely.

The farmers' markets in Green Country are only open from April to October, and the rest of the year we have to fend for ourselves.  Well, that is, if you depend wholly on the farmers' markets.  There are other ways.  And, if you're not a farmer yourself, and you want to get as close to the source of your food as you can, it's good to know what your resources are.  

Let's start here—where to find pure, unadulterated local food from the people who grow/raise/prepare it for you.  The aforementioned farmers' markets are, of course, the simplest way to go.  There you'll find produce (of course), meat, dairy, prepared foods (like baked goods and spice blends), along with various and sundry other items like ultra-local honey and hand-made non-food items (you know, soaps and candles and pottery and hand-spun llama wool—that kind of stuff).  Last year there was even a stand at the Cherry Street Farmers' Market selling all-natural snow cones in all kinds of fascinating flavors.  BUT, the earliest market (which does appear to be Cherry Street, incidentally) doesn't start until April 9th this year.  Today is March 15th.  So... what to do in the mean time?  

First of all, there's the: 

Tulsa Clean Food Market 

I just recently discovered this.  It seems to have been created to fill the off-season gap for local foods.  Here, you'll find many of the same farmers and producers that are at Green Country's farmers' markets.  Their last pickup date for the month, and for the season (looks like they shut down when the traditional farmers' markets open up in April) is March 26th, so hurry and get your order in!

Next, something I haven't tried, but strongly considered and see no reason why you shouldn't:

The Oklahoma Food Cooperative

This is the largest coop in Oklahoma, carrying ONLY products grown/raised/produced in Oklahoma.  

Now, I realize I'm a little late here for the March delivery, and you do have to pay a one-time fee to join the coop, but it really does look like it would be worth it.  Here we are, in the middle of March, with nary a vegetable in sight, and, besides the vast selection of meat, dairy, and other products, I found lettuce, kale, spinach, collards, turnips, green onions, radishes, mushrooms of all kinds, baby leeks, and baby raab.  I don't really know what raab is, but we'll find out soon enough.  (That one's slated for the WTF page.)

As a side note, it looks like you can get Oklahoma grown flour here--but only wheat.  If you're looking for gluten-free flour, you might have to make your own or buy it from a store like Whole Foods or Reasors.  We'll keep our eye out, though.  You never know what you might find when hunting local treasure.

Another way to seek out your local growers are these two nifty little websites:

The Eat Well Guide

and

Local Harvest

On each of these sites you can put in your zip code or city and pull up growers, producers, etc. in your area.  I've used both sites and have gotten different results from each, so it's good to check both if you want to know who's growing, raising, and selling what around here.  You may find a nearby farmer that has a farm stand or store, but doesn't necessarily go to the farmers’ markets--they may have just what you're looking for.  

Now for the not going broke part.  

It is a bald fact that--dollar for dollar--real, unprocessed, clean (i.e., raised without pesticides or herbicides and not genetically modified) food from a farm near you costs more than the conventional stuff you can get at the grocery store.  It also costs less to buy a 99 cent hot dog at your local Stop ‘N Shop than it does to buy the ingredients to make a fresh salad, but this is the kind of disparity we’re working with--quality versus quantity, health versus convenience.  And, you know what?  I'm not a rich woman.  Not even close.  I live paycheck to paycheck, trying to juggle a budget and stay afloat like most people in this economy.  But, call me crazy, I think feeding my family sustainably-produced food is vitally important.

First of all, I believe that eating good, local food makes us healthier and that, by skipping the poison and the processed made-with-ingredients-I-can't-pronounce “convenience foods,” we save extra trips to the doctor, which saves hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars over time.  Second, I believe that buying food that is made or grown close to home makes for a healthier environment.  Buying local contributes to my community, which makes for healthier, happier, more productive people; it motivates me and makes the world feel brighter, safer, and more inspiring.  I see something good happening here, something worthwhile.  This as a way to pick up our local economy and help people live their dreams, know their land, and feel a sense of connection with each other.  Eating with the seasons (that is, with your season, wherever you are) and taking advantage of the food that's grown and raised sustainably where you live does so much good on so many levels that it is simply worth more than conventional food from far away.  The current corporate food system brings us cheap food that is highly processed or farmed, one crop at a time, over thousands of acres of land which is stripped of its nutrients and artificially controlled to give higher, yet arguably less nutritious, yields.  

I’d like to see what happens when we, the people, do it ourselves.

Here are the elements of my current eat-mindfully-don't-go-broke strategy.  There are only three (so far), but I think they cover a lot of ground:

1. Make as much food “from scratch” as possible.  I'm willing to bet I can make organic potato chips (for example) cheaper than I can buy them prepackaged from Whole Foods.  And potentially even cheaper than a bag of Lay’s or Ruffles.   

2. Eat lower on the food chain more often.  I'm not vegetarian and have no plans to be, but I do believe that meat doesn't have to be eaten at every meal, and besides, it's expensive!  So, by cutting down on how often we eat like carnivores, and how much meat is incorporated in a meal when we do, we save money to put toward more vegetables and staple items.

3. Grow your own.  Nothing is more local, more fresh, or more cost-effective than food you grow yourself.  I know not everyone has a yard in which to plant a garden.  But, even in an apartment, there are ways you can grow some of your own food.  There is much information out there about container gardening and urban farming.  You can get involved with a community garden.  There are ways, if you’re determined and willing to get a little creative.

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