Tag Archives: good eats

Keeping It Fresh

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Hey, did you know that we here at Scoot like food? And eating? We totally do!

Something else we like? Supporting local businesses. And a big part of that is eating local.

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We’re spread out all over the country, so that first part isn’t so easy. But while we may not be local to each other, we’re all down with our local food scene, be it farmer’s markets, CSAs or locally sourced restaurants. Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to chat about the different ways we keep it local.

Bec

Two words. Farmer’s. Market. Or if you have access, going straight to a local farm is even better. New England is home to really decent gardening conditions, so in the summer, it’s easy to get local grub. I’m lucky enough to have a ton of local farmer’s markets nearby, so pretty much any day of the week, I could hit one up. And, as if that weren’t awesome enough, there’s a local farm about 10 minutes up the street from work, that has a farm stand three days a week.

This past weekend, I hit up the local farmer’s market. My husband is usually working on Saturdays, but he had just started his vacation, so we all went. This particular market is my personal favorite, as it sits right beside a small beach, and there’s a big grassy area to have a picnic, and the best lobster rolls in the world are sold right up the road. They have everything from fresh bread to nautical jewelry to local honey to TONS of fresh produce. I went with $40 in cash, and left with all this.

Eat the rainbow!

Eat the rainbow!

And these…

Honey, fire up the spiralizer, I'm making zoodles!

Honey, fire up the spiralizer, I’m making zoodles!

And THIS.

Peas for scale. The monster lettuce weighed almost 5 pounds and cost me $2.25!

Peas for scale. The monster lettuce weighed almost 5 pounds and cost me $2.25!

The kids were right in there, making suggestions and asking for berries. (Parenting Pro-tip: If your kids ask for fruit, say yes, every time). And everyone got frozen lemonade, and I still left with a couple bucks. Total score.

Cam

Riverside, California has a huge agriculture industry.  It is home to acres of citrus trees, hosts the Orange Blossom Festival, and even has a Citrus Heritage Run through the orange groves, which I participated in last year.  It’s not uncommon for residents to have a few lime, lemon and orange trees in their yards.  The University of California, Riverside, which is just around the corner from my place of residence, keeps groves of citrus trees and has a botanical garden that is open to the public.  Yep, we here in Riverside love our gardens.

Riverside puts on three Farmer’s Markets a week, in different locations. There are also markets that are open daily where you can buy fresh produce that’s been picked that day. I used to live downtown (on Lime St., right between Orange and Lemon), so I’ve only frequented the Downtown Farmer’s Market. I used to walk there every Saturday to get produce, fresh flowers, eggs, honey, and bread… and sometimes dog treats. All organic, all grown locally.

Riverside is very close to other agriculture towns, like Redlands, mostly famous for Hangar 24 Orange Wheat beer, Yucaipa and Oak Glen, where you can pick apples in the acres of orchards, and Norco, which has a very distinctive smell, they have cows. Vendors from these nearby cities bring in their goods and set up shop on Main St. in Riverside every weekend. In addition to all the produce, there’s live music, food trucks, and local vendors, all displaying their goods and services, from dangly handmade jewelry and pottery to fancy scarves and hats. It’s a great way to support local business and I like the idea that I get to talk face to face with the people that grow the food I’m feeding to my family.

Mer

Summertime means my creativity in the kitchen (and in general) is at an all time high! I want to do and try all the things and I’m not afraid to go for the gusto in trying new recipes because hey, there’s time to spare.

When I’m able to, I always support local businesses. Growing up in the Garden State means we have the opportunity to head straight to the source when we prepare our meals.

Here’s a recent haul from a trip to our local farm, Duffield’s. Anyone want to guess how much this cost? The cucumbers and corn are homegrown.

$16!

$16!

Additionally, I am super luckily to have other sources for what ends up on our table. Joyce, at Pickie Pickie Farm (aka her yard) has chickens! We visit once a week to get extremely fresh eggs from her chickies.

Gandolf the rooster

Gandolf the rooster

The chicken roam freely around the yard during the day and return to the coup each evening.

Mer3

 

Finally, there’s the Bullock Garden at our local elementary school. This is a brand new initiative headed by first grade teacher, Sonya Harris. I’ve been lucky enough to learn from the educators at my son’s school how to weed the things that don’t belong there and (the fun part) pick all different herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

We were fortunate to have Ahmed Hassan work on the garden this spring and it’s truly been a blessing to our community.

From garden...

From garden…

...to plate!

…to plate!

So, whether you’re local to one of us or not, we highly encourage you to check out your local farm scene. And then you should totally send us pics of your food. Because in case it wasn’t obvious, we really like food.

Next Friday look for our post about homing gardening and CSAs (that’s Community Supported Agriculture). Are you a part of a local CSA? Shoot us an email at scootadoot at gmail.com – we’d love to feature YOU in our next post!

Recipe Box: Roast Chicken and Veggies

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For a long time, I was not the “cook” in our house. Originally when we first bought our house, the cooking responsibilities fell on to Jay because he knew how. I didn’t. We were both fine with this.

However, when I became a stay at home mom, and he started working longer hours the responsibility shifted more to me. It was terrifying and awesome simultaneously. When we got married a dear friend gave us the Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook, which is where I originally got this recipe. I’ve tried my hand at all sorts of recipes and this one has stuck around for quite some time!

It is more time intensive than labor intensive. You can prep the veggies before preheating the oven and there’s no rushing around with this recipe (unlike others, in which you have five things going on at the same time and need to get them all done in a particular order. You know the type!). What I particularly like about this recipe is that I usually have most of the ingredients in my house – I only need to pick up the chicken on shopping day.

Ingredients

  • 3 carrots, cut into thirds
  • 6 small red new potatoes, quartered if large
  • 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges (we love the veggies so I usually up this to 2 onions – if you have the room in your pan, do it up!)chickenveggies1
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 chicken (3 to 4 pounds)chickenveggies2
  • 1 lemon, quartered
  • 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Put the carrots, potatoes, and onion in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Toss the vegetables with 1 tablespoon of melted butter or olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.  Spread the vegetables to the edges of the baking dish so the chicken may rest in the middle.

Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard. Rinse the bird under cold running water and pat dry. Put the chicken, breast-side up, in the center of the baking dish. Brush the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter or oil. Season generously salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon quarters and rosemary sprigs. Put the garlic cloves under the chicken to prevent them from burning.

Roast for 45 minutes.  Remove the dish from the oven.  Using tongs, tilt the chicken, pouring the juices from the cavity onto the vegetables, and shake to coat. Your house will be smelling absolutely amazing at this point.

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Baste the chicken with the pan juices.  If the bird is browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil.  Continue roasting until the chicken is a deep golden brown and the juices run clear when the tip of a knife is inserted into the thigh joint, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh, away from the bone, registers 170 to 175 degrees F, 30-45 minutes more, depending on your oven.

chickenveggies4

Transfer the chicken to a platter and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before carving. Using the back of a spoon, mash the garlic and squeeze some lemon into the pan juices. Toss the juices with the vegetables. Carve the chicken (okay, I’m not at this point in my life yet. Jay still carves the bird) and serve the vegetables alongside.

The recipe says that it serves two but if you’re liberal with the veggies, the chicken meat can easily feed at least four.  Bon appetit!

Breaking the Fast

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It’s the most important meal of the day. Some people eat it on the go; others eat it for dinner. Heck, some people even eat it at Tiffany’s (bucket list!). Whether you are in the ‘can’t start the day without a good one’ camp, or your on the ‘hit the drive through if you have time’ side, breakfast is something all of us at Scoot-A-Doot have been talking about (mostly on Twitter where we are like ‘Hey, I’m eating…AGAIN!’)

We thought we’d share with you what our breakfasts look like. And hopefully, you’ll all be awesome and share with us what your breakfasts look like. We’ll beg for recipes. We have zero shame.

Vic

I’ll be honest, I’m not the best about getting a solid breakfast in my belly before work each day. Most days I pour myself two large travel mugs of coffee (don’t judge me) and run out the door to make it to work on time. I guzzle one cup in the car and the second cup shortly after arriving at my desk. I then eat a banana, or greek yogurt, depending on what I have in my pantry.

On weekends, when I have more time, I tend to make oatmeal (usually with bananas) or cereal. Sometimes I eat scrambled eggs. And lately, I’ve been turned onto protein banana berry smoothies, so they may soon take over my breakfast and afternoon snack spot as well.

Brooke

You guys, I love all the breakfast foods. Omelets (with spinach and feta), french toast, waffles with fruit and whipped cream, pancakes with butter and maple syrup, and always lots and lots of bacon. I love the entire breakfast experience- sipping coffee and reading the paper (or facebook), while savoring these amazing foods that were (hopefully) prepared by someone else. Sadly, those kinds of meals don’t happen often. (And usually, it’s breakfast at dinnertime.)

My daily breakfast is almost always some form of oatmeal. My go-to is plain cooked oats with a sprinkle of cinnamon, some chopped almonds, a handful of fruit and a splash of milk. Meri introduced me to whipped oatmeal, which is so much better than my boring hot cereal, but takes more time than I have right now. More dishes to wash too!

Since the little dude arrived, I’ve been eating instant oatmeal (gasp). My favorite is Three Sisters Dark Chocolate, because it is sweet, filling and it’s ready in two minutes. I eat my cereal while I’m nursing the babe, and shove some fruit in my mouth while I’m driving the girls to school. Not the most enjoyable breakfast, but it works for now. See why I save the pancakes and bacon for dinner?

Cam

Smoothies!  I heart fruit smoothies for breakfast.  I’m not a morning eater.  If fact, I’ve spent the majority of my life skipping breakfast.  Unless it’s a pastry.  But pastries aren’t “everyday” foods, or so I’ve been told.  Instead I go all natural and get my sweets from a fruit smoothie. I have very limited time in the morning and blending up a smoothie takes less time than toasting a bagel or driving through one of those heart attack factories.  My recipe for deliciousness goes something like this:

Kefir yogurt drink.  Usually vanilla, sometimes strawberry if I’m feeling spunky.
Frozen mixed berries, either fresh that I’ve frozen or bagged.
A frozen banana. I put them in the freezer when they start to go brown.  I’m not a fan of ripe bananas.
One scoop of protein powder.  This can be tricky.  Finding a protein powder that you like can be a chore, but once you find a brand that floats your boat, you should stick with it.
Whole Flax seed, because I like the texture that it contributes.  Plus, it’s good for your bowels.

I usually just eyeball the proportions and toss in a blender.  If the mixture seems too thick, I add some water to loosen things up.  My kids love it and we can drink it in the car.  It’s my favorite breakfast on the go!

Meri

Jess and I were talking about BBQ food the other day and I said something to the effect of wanting it, just not at 8:49 in the morning (when we were emailing).  Because while BBQ is delicious, it just doesn’t lend itself well to being eaten in the morning.  However, breakfast?  You can eat that all day long.

And I would.

Smoothies, pancakes, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, omelets, scones, fruit, and BACON.  Yes, bacon.  I eat it occasionally.  And I love it.

Bring on the breakfast, brunch, brinner!

Jess

My idea of cooking is picking up the phone and dialing. I have zero skills in the kitchen, which is why I love breakfast so much. So many super delicious, ready-made options, and healthy ones at that. Look, Ma, I’m eating fruit!

My typical breakfast these days is a couple Nutri-Grain waffles (a little syrup in each square, thank you very much), a banana, and a tall glass of OJ. Get that all prepared – so easy, even a cooking-challenged lady like myself can do it – and then I shovel it all in my mouth before the baby wakes up from his nap. It’s simple, yummy and keeps my stomach full until second breakfast rolls around.

Bec

I am seriously a breakfast fiend. Most days it’s a healthy day smoothie (my absolute favorite is a Peach Pie Smoothie with chia seeds – frozen organic peaches, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt, chia seeds, sprinkle of cinnamon, sprinkle of nutmeg, blend, YUM. I’m with Cam, I don’t measure, just throw in there what you think will make the amount you want). But I love a big Sunday brunch with eggs and bacon and potatoes and EVERYTHING. I just love breakfast.

Love.

In the winter, I’m big on oatmeal or a bowl of cooked grains (barley, quinoa) with almond milk and fruit. Now that the weather is turning warmer (I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER ABOUT THIS), I’ll be doing overnight refrigerator oats. If you haven’t tried these, I can not recommend them highly enough. Easy, make ahead, versatile, healthy and crazy good.

Also, I have recently redeveloped a love of Poached Eggs on toast. It’s so simple, full of protein and fiber, and tasty (even without the Canadian bacon and hollandaise).

Also, bacon. As often as I can get away with.

So, this is what we eat. If you want recipes for anything we mentioned, just let us know. We’re good sharers. And if you’re a good sharer and want to inundate us with recipes and ideas, we’ll be forever grateful.

Now, who wants to make me a cup o’ Joe?