Home for Supper- local food, not local condiments

     Dining in the summer has its own brand of casual. I haven't posted a whole lot of detailed dinner menus because often we will roll into the house shortly before dinner and have grilled cheese, or last nights chicken in sandwiches or a standby recipe using local fare.  I had anticipated that I would have to change my cooking in order to eat local, but that hasn't been the case- we are changing where we buy food more than what we buy.


     Last night was one of those rare evenings; where a lovely calm comes over the house, my husband is home from his night shift and has had a chance to rest. Cooking dinner takes on a new pleasure because all of us will be at the table together. It's the sort of night that inspires me to shake out fresh linen from the drawer and enjoy a glass of wine with my meal.  We had mushroom kebabs, perogies on the BBQ, cheddar smokies, and a lettuce cucumber salad. I had such high hopes for this meal, I laid out the food and photographed it, you'll notice I separated the local food from the "not local." 

      The cheddar smokies from the Burt's farms have become a weekly ritual around here. They are fully cooked and only need be warmed on the BBQ to be ready. The meat is beautifully seasoned, garlicky and peppery. The cheddar adds a smooth saltiness that makes my mouth water. Terry and I agreed that what sets these smokies ahead of all others is that they do not rely on the cheese to make them delicious, and this week we'll pick up some regular smokies just to prove it!
     
      With all the fabulous summer weather, I prefer to cook on the BBQ, so I had a very clever idea (I thought). I put the perogies in a foil pocket with some butter and put them on the grill. I had recently saw an article where perogies were cooked on the BBQ on skewers with Kielbasa, can you even imagine? I figured my idea wasn't far off. Wrong! I left them piled so they stuck together and the middles were still sticky and doughy- fixable enough, but a little foresight would have made a big difference. Next week I'll try the skewer, or lay them flat instead. 


     Salad, was too heavy on the endive, so bitter. 


    I brushed a lemon, soy sauce, and ginger mixture on the mushrooms- next time I'll marinate ahead of time, they were way too dry.


   In all, it was not the food I had envisioned- but I shared it with my family, at the dinner table in the middle of the week with no rushing at all.  When I had the food at the table, I felt pleased that all the food was locally produced, the only shame I had was the sour cream- poor planning, I could have bought that at the Eat Local shop but forgot and didn't want to drive back into town. The salad dressings are leftover from before the project began- and are a punishment in their own right- flavourless and oily, should have made my own.


    As for the hooch, Terry is out of home brew, for now. And well, I love French and Australian red wines. I mean I did buy the tetra pack. I hate wasting food and wine, and bad wine will vex me for days! So, dear reader, please suggest a good ontario red- cabernet sauvignon SVP.   Send recipes of salad dressings, rubs and marinades using local ingredients- help me out!!