Locavore Challenge

Today kicks off Urban Hennery's Dark Days Challenge. The challenge is to make one meal per week using SOLE-Sustainable, Organic, Local, Ethical- ingredients from December 1, 2010 until April 15, 2011. With my fall garden in mind I signed up with confidence as soon as the announcement was made. However, now that it is here and I need to start thinking about what resources I have I am feeling the challenge. A few exceptions can be made such as coffee, chocolate, oils and spices. My exceptions (as of today) will be oils, spices, salt and pepper. I may have to add flour to the list later. Flour and corn meal are milled locally but at this time are hard for me to find being grown locally. I am thinking that I may make an exception for flour as long as I am making my own bread and pasta and try to use flour that is milled locally. This part I will work out as it happens.


After a visit to the garden today I am getting very excited about my first dark days meal. In Georgia we have had a very mild (to say the least- in the 70s) fall this year. My cilantro sprouted all over the garden from last spring's plantings. So as I was picking the cilantro I was imagining making a cilantro pesto with it. Then the best thing happened- my neighbor (that I have never spoken to) walked up to me in my garden and asked if I wanted some pecans he just harvested from his little pecan trees. Of course I wanted them- this was serendipity. Now my cilantro pesto could be included in the Dark Days challenge because I will use my neighbor's pecans instead of pine nuts. Yippee. I literally jumped up and down when I made this realization.

I plan to make the pesto today or tomorrow but will save it for a later meal when I have figured out how I am going to handle the flour issue, I am thinking either pasta or pizza. I promise to post the recipe for the pesto when I make it.