Local eating and dreaming of cheese

Its time for another Dark Days challenge update.  Dark Days is a local eating challenge for the winter.  At least one meal per week must be made exclusively of food sourced from within 150 miles with the exception of salt/spices and olive oil.



Week 1 and 2

In my first week, I made a Chantarelle Mushroom and Oyster stew that was fantastic.  I'm lucky to live within 150 miles of the coast for fresh Oysters.  In the second week, I made a Frittata from eggs my ladies laid and veggies from my CSA box.



Week 3 and 4

I was out of town for most of it and couldn't participate.  I did successfully make a vegetarian dinner for my in-laws and fooled them into thinking there was meat in it.  I love that old trick.  Thank you to my family, when you read this, for humoring me in my endeavors.



Week 5

I have noticed that my shopping habits have changed drastically.  When I'm at the store, I am putting my staples back as I notice how far they had to travel before getting to my local grocer.  I LOVE tomatoes, but do I need to have them if they came all the way from Mexico?  I'm craving oranges, but the label only says "Product of the USA".



I also discovered that if I am buying local foods, surprising parts of my recipe are very expensive.  I have discovered that local butter isn't cheap.  If I crack open my Julia Childs cookbook, it's going to cost me a mortgage payment.  And of course the cheese... oh the cheese.....  Now I slowly nibble and savor every piece where before I may have cut off a huge wedge.



Hopefully this will all lead to a smaller waistline as a byproduct of my endeavors but it has at least made me appreciate the power of eating seasonal foods.  Consider my tomato for a moment.  If I didn't eat a single tomato all winter, the glory of the first one of the season would be all the sweeter.



So let's get on to the eating.  What culinary delight did I create?  I made apple stuffed acorn squash with pork tenderloins topped with my home-canned plum chutney from last summer (thank goodness for that chutney and my mom's overwhelming plum tree.



I'll include the squash recipe today and the chutney on a different post.  I didn't make any exceptions to this recipe outside the local boundries... technically.  I did use maple syrup for sweetness in my apple stuffing which is not found in my area.  But when I was visiting my family in Michigan, my husband brought home some local Michigan maple syrup that we packed in our bags.  Ok... I cheated a little.. but it was local when we were there :)



Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

Notes:  I only used a small amount of butter and syrup since my new discovery of how much local butter and syrup costs.  I think it's worth it though.



Ingredients

1 medium acorn squash

1 large apple

2 Tbs chopped hazelnuts

2 Tbs dried cranberries

2 Tbs Maple syrup

1 Tbs butter cut into small pieces

1 pinch cinnamon

1 pinch Salt



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.



2. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the inner seeds.  Place cut side down in a shallow baking dish with about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom.  Cook for 30 minutes.



3. Meanwhile, cut the apple into 1/2" pieces and chop the hazelnuts.  Mix together the apples, cranberries, nuts, cinnamon, and salt.



4. Pull the squash out of the oven and add the apple mixture to the hollow centers of the squash.  Dot the top with butter and drizzle with the maple syrup





5. Cook upright for an additional 15-20 minutes until the squash is tender.



Servings: 2

Yield: 1/2 Squash



For a printable version of this recipe, click on the widget below.

Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash