Dinner tonight: Eggs in the 10th Circle of Hell

Tonight I had a (mostly) local dinner. My salad featured greens from Tree and Leaf Farm in Virginia, along with cherry tomatoes from Richfield Farm in Maryland, currants from Quaker Valley Farm in—you guessed it—Pennsylvania, and sunflower seeds from, well, Giant. What can I say—I really love sunflower seeds in salads. And hey, I just checked, and turns out they are from Connecticut!

I also made Eggs in Purgatory for the second time in a couple of weeks. Last time I was very lazy and used bottled sauce (Rao's Homemade Arrabiata, which I think is quite good) and a Thomas' English muffin. This time I made the sauce from scratch using this really simple recipe from smitten kitchen.

Everything I used was local, except for the crushed tomatoes themselves and the glug of red wine I poured in, which was accidentally quite generous. And, of course, the spices and oil. I used leftover Atwater's bread from brunch on Saturday, eggs from Groff's Content Farm, and garlic from Tree and Leaf. I am so glad garlic is back at the farmers markets. All winter I was so distressed by the sad state of garlic at both Harris Teeter and Whole Foods, and I could not wait until the summer when I could purchase decent garlic.

Cooking tip of the day: When you crack the eggs into your nicely reduced sauce, don't wander away and start catching up on blogs. You will overcook your eggs, which is exactly what I did last time I made Eggs in Purgatory too. This is why I have upgraded them to the 10th Circle of Hell, better known as the hell of hard, chalky yolks instead of nice, runny yolks. Still, it was a good meal, and very quick to throw together on a weeknight.

One local brunch

This weekend I invited two good friends over for a (mostly) local brunch. On the menu:

Mexican-style scrambled eggs. The recipe was from the Cherry Glen Goat Cheese Company, and is intended to use their chipotle goat cheese. However, they weren't at the Mt. Pleasant market this week (according to the weekly market email they are moving into a new ripening room), so I substituted Dragon's Breath cheese from Keswick Creamery—an equally spicy, though not as melty, cheese. All the ingredients I used in this were local except the tortilla chips and, of course, the salt and pepper. No red bell peppers at the market this week, so I used purple.

Home fries. Continuing the purple theme, I made home fries with purple potatoes, onion, garlic, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and canola oil. Colorful and delicious, even if they did take forever to cook. The spices are from Penzey's, a great source for fresh, inexpensive spices. (If you are in the DC area, there are locations in Falls Church and Rockville.)

Salad, with red currants from Quaker Valley Farm and sunflower seeds (not local). Despite my earlier taste test, I have decided I prefer the red currants to the pink. The flavor of the pink currants is too subtle (and they get soft and mushy sooner than a procrastinator like me would like). Speaking of currants, here is a recent article from the New York Times about the resurgence of these berries, particularly the black ones, which I have yet to see at the market. (Thanks, Marianne!)

Slow-roasted red and yellow cherry tomatoes from Richfield Farm with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Melon. I wish I could remember what it was called. It had a yellow, smooth skin and a light green flesh. Anyone know? I believe it was also from Quaker Valley Farm.

Peasant wheat toast from Atwater's Bakery served with raspberry jam from Country Pleasures Farm, and butter (sadly, not local—I wasn't able to stop by Penn Quarter on Thursday to replenish my butter supply from Blue Ridge Dairy).

Mimosas. Well, it was brunch...

Pasta with broccoli and garlic

Today I stopped by the Foggy Bottom farmers market and was ecstatic when the first table I came to was selling fresh pasta. I was so in the mood for noodles, and Cavanna Pasta delivered. I bought a pound of whole-wheat fettuccine (and some anise biscotti as a birthday present for my former boss).

I also picked up about a pound of broccoli and, most exciting, some red and pink currants (there were also white currants, but the deal was two for $7). I asked the nice woman taking my money if there was a difference in the taste. "Yes," she said, then turned to help someone else. Hmmm.

So I brought the currants home and gave them a try. Based on a very small sampling, I think I like the pink ones better. They have a more subtle, fresh fruity taste. The red currants taste more tart, which normally I love, but the taste verged on bitterness. I'll have to give both another try in my yogurt tomorrow morning.

For dinner tonight, I decided to be a bit lazy. I chopped the broccoli into florets, threw it into boiling salted water, then added a half-pound of the pasta. Two minutes later (after I fished an errant piece of broccoli out from under the burner), I drained everything and started sauteing the garlic and some red pepper flakes in olive oil, then added the pasta and a bit of butter. (I would have used Blue Ridge Dairy butter, but apparently that has started getting moldy...) Finally, I added some salt and pepper and crumbled Cherry Glen goat cheese—which had also begun to get moldy, but I just cut that off.

I was a little nervous the broccoli was going to overcook since normally I dump it in an ice bath after blanching it, but it turned out perfectly (which means my leftovers will probably be mushy). All in all, it was a delicious and fast local meal.

Semi-local meals this week

My sister is visiting from Charleston, SC, this week. We have had a great time visiting the local farmers markets (Mt. Pleasant, U Street, Dupont), trying gooseberries, and cooking some semi-local food. In fact, she took the reins in the kitchen this week.

Last weekend, she made herself a lovely lunch of (store-bought) toasted English muffins topped with diced cheddar from Keswick Creamery and local green tomatoes sauteed with olive oil and salt and pepper. (I had leftover vegetarian bibimbap from a Korean restaurant in Annandale—tasty but not exactly local.)

She also made us a delicious lunch on Tuesday of shrimp pan-fried with olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. We ate that with a side of basmati rice (only white rice I have on hand!) and local zucchini and green tomatoes sauteed with butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. Man, those shrimp were good.

My new favorite snack

Gooseberries. Sort of a cross between grapes, raspberries, and sour candy. Delicious and addictive.

Local breakfast

Throughout the summer, my regular breakfast consists of some combination of yogurt and fruit. Starting with strawberries in the spring, moving on to blueberries (my favorite), raspberries, blackberries, apricots, peaches...

Usually I use yogurt from Blue Ridge Dairy, but they aren't at my usual markets. So yesterday I bought yogurt from Keswick Creamery from Pennsylvania. Their yogurt is thinner than Blue Ridge's but it has a great tart flavor. I'm looking forward to trying it out with the blueberries and cherries I got yesterday in Mt. Pleasant. I also got gooseberries, which I had never tried before—those I am looking forward to eating right out of the container.

Here is a patriotic version of my normal breakfast in honor of the Fourth of July—yogurt, blueberries, and the last of the season's strawberries.