Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Battle Local Foods
Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 presents Battle Local Foods:
Even with the best of intentions, buying locally is not easy. Some local farmers’ markets carry out of season produce from Mexico, and the gourmet super market has bread from 300 miles away. Battle local foods highlights the difficulty of buying all local foods in Philadelphia but also shares a local, seasonal, meal that is delicious and fun. Buying local foods just requires asking a few questions and learning where to go.
Two teams of friends create an appetizer, entrée, and dessert using only items that are either locally grown or locally produced. It was up to the diners to decide who would win the battle! Now let’s get local in RhodeyGirl’s kitchen, with special guests Heather of Hangry Pants and local food lovers Gina & Jake!
This fall I went to my local grocery store to get some apples, and I was appalled when I saw they were from Washington state. Pennylsvania has hundreds of apple orchards, yet our market was stocking apples from literally thousands of miles away. That experience made me become passionate about supporting local farms as well as local producers. Why go to Washington state for apples when less than an hour away we have Terhune Orchards? It doesn’t make sense.
While I still buy bananas & avocados (let’s face it- life would not be the same without peanut butter banana oatmeal and fresh guacamole), I try to buy as much local, seasonal produce as I can. When I learn about a small local company making chocolates or pretzels or whatever it is, I also try to support them.
Some items have been traded for thousands of years or are truly special, gourmet items that I don’t mind purchasing from all over the world. These include some brands of tuna packed in olive oil, Nutella straight from Italy (the U.S. version is just not the same), marcona almonds from Spain, olive oil from Greece, Italy, and Frog Hollow Farms in California, and every kitchen’s basic items like sugar, kosher salt, spices and flour.
I began the search for my items for our menu on Thursday of this week by stopping at a few super markets to see what local items they had to offer. For the first time I really paid attention to the recently mandated country of origin labels. I found shrimp from India, pine nuts from China, and lots of produce from Mexico and California. I was surprised that even the asparagus, which I know can be sourced locally, came from California.
On Saturday morning I continued my search by stopping at a few local markets. My favorite one was the Rittenhouse Square farmers’ market. Every vendor there carries locally grown or produced items.
I have been to markets before that actually buy their produce from places like Costco and then place them in small baskets to give that farm feel. I only know this because one day I asked, and the gentleman shared that knowledge with me. Luckily, Rittenhouse market has all local items, and I confirmed just to be sure. I also visited the Reading Terminal Market, The Pretzel Factory, Whole Foods, DiBruno’s and a grocery store.
The other team visited Suburban Square market, Lancaster County, and a grocery store. For a list of all Philadelphia’s Farmers’ Markets you can visit the farm to city website. Many of them will be opening in the next two weeks, including my local one, the Fairmount Farmers’ Market!
In this challenge we were allowed to use items that have been traded or imported for a long time such as spices, olive oil, salt, etc. Everything else, however, had to be locally grown or locally produced. Diners were given ballots to judge each dish based on taste, presentation, originality, and adherence to the challenge.
The two teams were both really excited to take on the challenge, as all four of us are passionate about local foods in some way. On one team we had Gina & Jake, a husband and wife couple that planned their strategy for over a week. Gina typically only buys organic meats and tries to buy organic produce when possible.
On the other team we had Heather of Hangry Pants and yours truly. I buy mostly organic dairy (with the exception of specialty cheeses for PB), organic meats, and try to support local farms when possible, as I mentioned above. You all probably know Heather by now, but if you don’t head on over to HangryPants.com to read more about her. Heather & Mark came to Philadelphia just for this fun battle. So exciting!
Here is the Battle Local Foods menu:
Appetizer
*Asparagus and fresh mozzarella bruschetta
(Photo courtesy of hangrypants.com)
*Simple salad: spring greens & baby spinach with roasted asparagus, a tomato & cucumber skewer, finished with a balsamic dressing and a hint of fresh mint
Entrée
*Baked breaded chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms, spinach and fresh mozzarella served over a bed of fresh spinach and mushrooms
(Photo courtesy of hangrypants.com)
*Whole wheat fettuccini in a fresh basil cream sauce with roasted grape tomatoes
(Photo courtesy of hangrypants.com)
Dessert
*Rhubarb crumb cake with fresh vanilla ice cream
*Philly soft pretzel chocolate bread pudding with vanilla ice cream
Note from the teams: While over 90% of each item on the menu was sourced locally, both teams used a few items against challenge rules. Gina & Jake used fresh lime, and Heather and I used a bit of parmigiano reggiano and some mustard. We also put out an assortment of cheeses & cracker trays (not part of the challenge- but containing a few local cheeses) for everyone to enjoy.
The diners/voters really got into the battle and left interesting and funny notes about the foods.
Here are some of them:
Bruschetta:
-O.K. (sorry, not a fan of bruschetta)
-Needs salt
-needs salt, yummy!
-danger: toothpick. Bread needs more toasting. I like the oil. Cheese needs more bite: provolone maybe?
-I liked this a lot!! Very fresh & very delicious! A fun dish- good for parties. I would eat this at a wedding.
-not enough flavor
Salad:
-O.K.
-love the mint!
-a little too much balsamic
-danger: possibly has (unintelligible word); needs cheese like bruschetta. I don’t like vinegar.
-Just a lil’ more kick would have been good. I could have used some local cheese- but that would have given me gas.
-Like the mint! Actually, love the mint!
Chicken:
-Looks and tastes good. Not great, but good.
-needs salt + spinach needs more cooking and flavor
-chicken little dry. Broccoli rabe taste (writer’s note: it was spinach!). stuffing was confusing
-This was good, but I didn’t get the local flavor. Still, very delicious!
-would prefer seasoned bread crumbs. Needs more seasoning
-Nice taste!!
Pasta:
-Just very blah! Sorry.
-needs more salt + flavor. Too much basil
-not too cheesy, perfectly cooked pasta. Tomatoes surprisingly pleasant
-liked the tomatoes, would like more. Needs more seasoning.
-This was good. A little heavy for my liking. I think this might give me gas, but that is not your fault- it’s my problem.
-very nice! With what was faced with (local foods)
Rhubarb Crumb Cake:
-Sorry, really does not taste good. I can’t eat it, and that’s saying something.
-MMM!
-sad face. This dish confused me. But I do appreciate the originality of the use of the rhubarb.
-I like the cake better than the crumbs
Philly Pretzel Bread Pudding:
-Loved it!
-MMM!
-A pleasant surprise in my mouth- needs more chocolate sauce drizzled
-Awesome! I want this every night. If this is Sabrina, make this more. If this is Jake/Gina, please come over soon. YUM!
-Wish the pretzels were more moist/soft- more pudding like…
The final menu was such a hit we just had to share a few of the recipes!
Whole Wheat Fettuccini with basil cream sauce and roasted tomatoes
Philly Pretzel Bread Pudding
Rhubarb Crumb Cake
Which team made which dish? Who won full bragging rights until our next challenge? You’ll have to watch the video to find out!
*This video was taken by a FlipCam given to me by Meghann of graduatemeghann.com.
A few surprises:
-I was shocked to learn that the pine nuts at our market come from China. Where can one find local nuts?
-Our guests did not like rhubarb! This was surprising because I found it to be absolutely delicious. I wonder if my taste buds have changed?
-Everyone was as excited about the battle as we were!
Preparing a meal from start to finish using only locally grown and locally produced foods was a challenge, but both teams did so successfully and we put together a great dinner. Head out to your local grocery store or farmers’ market, and don’t be afraid to ask questions about the source.
Buy local foods!
Thank you for this great opportunity Foodbuzz!
40 Responses to “Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Battle Local Foods”
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What an awesome challenge and a great way to publicize the benefits of buying locally with your amazing meals. The crumb cake looks especially good – I love rhubarb although I think it may be an ‘acquired’ taste.
Fun!
It is hard to keep local, but as you continue to do so it gets much easier. I agree that it’s hard to keep away from the parmigiano! Luckily we have a producer close by that makes a parmesan-style cheese. Just have to do a little digging sometimes!
Wow, this is awesome! The food looks delicious 🙂
Such a great, original idea! Way to go you two!!!!! 🙂
P.s. love the video. 🙂
That looks like so much fun!! And the Pretzel Bread Pudding looks amazing! Wow I want some right now!
Very fun idea! The Pretzel Bread Pudding is a great idea! I love the idea of using local ingredients, and I really hope to do more of it myself in the future 🙂
What a fun 24, 24 ,24 idea! I try to buy local too, and it’s insane how hard it is! Even our local co-op has stuff that’s been shipped thousands of miles… thankfully its all labeled though! 🙂
that’s a fun idea to vote! the pasta didn’t get rave reviews, but it looked absolutely heavenly 🙂
That looks like an incredible 24, 24, 24!! Pretzel bread pudding!? Omg!
Great job girls! That looked amazing! So fun! Congrats!
What an awesome idea, everything looks delicious and looks like a good time!
How fun is this??? I love pretzel factory pretzels!!! i get them every time we come to philly. That dessert looks out of this world! Also really enjoyed how you listed the opinions and did the video!Nice work Sabrina!!! (AND HEATHER!!)
What a fun activity! The presentation looks amazing…you’re all such talented chefs!!
Cannot WAIT for that pretzel bread pudding recipe! Looks like you guys had tons of fun — great challenge.
I haven’t seen one of these 24,24,24 dinners in action before. Looks like it was challenging to buy local, which is kinda sad. We should support local companies.
I bet you guys had a lot of fun.
Wow, what an amazing challenge!
This looks like so much fun! I love Di Bruno brothers, when my husband lived there we would go all the time for lunch. Do you live in Fairmount? I miss Philly so much, I haven’t been there in awhile, so thanks for the pics 🙂 Everything looked great especially the dessert!
What a fun event and challenge! I think it all looks terrific, but I am a little stuck on the Philly pretzel bread pudding! That just sounds so interesting and delicious! Made with Philly pretzels and chocolate…how bad can that be?!
What a fun battle! I loved this! I definitely try to take advantage of the local RI food when I can. Next semester I’m going to be on the co-op eating program and get local veggies at Brown each week
That was so much fun to do and to watch today!!! Thanks again for being my partner.
When’s the next Battle Local Foods?
Will there be shards of glass in the dishes this time?
DANGER! DANGER!
Hahahahaha – lovely idea, girls!
Lovely post, btw. Haha 😉
Have a wonderful week!
Brazilian XOXO´s,
Gabriela
What fun!!! I love the pretzel bread pudding idea. Looks super yummy!
I love celebrating local foods! Looks like you guys had a blast!
What a fun dinner! This would be great to do once a month with friends.
What a fantastic post! I am currently looking into a CSA and my local farmer’s markets so I can also support my community. Not to mention, it’s healthier!
What an awesome idea!!! I love it!
This was awesome. HOW FUN!!!! I so want to do a food challenge….
Excellent post!!! And gorgeous photos 🙂
Looks like a great deal of fun was had!
Great challenge! Here’s a tip. Look for GROWERS markets instead of FARMERS markets. The growers markets are ALL grown by the person that is selling the produce, bread, etc. The one in West Chester is probably my fave.
@Scargosun, Thank you so much for sharing that distinction! I had no idea!!!!
LOVE this!! Looked like so much fun, plus all the delicious looking food! Wish I could have been there 🙂 I love rhubarb, but I feel like a lot of people don’t have much experience with it by itself…it’s so often with strawberries. MMmm makes me want something strawberry-rhubarb!
The fresh mozzarella/asparagus bruschetta looks so good to me! After wrangling with tons of rhubarb in my challenge, I’m craving mild, subtler tastes.
Excellent, sensible and sober angle on the local foods sourcing issue. We need to work on sourcing foods locally that are native/established locally, and not worry too much about things like spices or citrus fruits because let’s face it, there’s been trade in exotic foods for centuries. All in all, wonderful post and dinner!
ur incredibly pretty!!! just stumbled upon ur bloggie and love it so much. great pictures. have a fabulous week <3
Congratulations for being one of the other 23. What a great idea and we should all support local produce wherever we live !!
What an awesome post! Love seeing you and Heather together — two of my fave ladies in one place 🙂
I, like those above, also like rhubarb, though I’ve yet to find a suitable raw way of preparing it (and doubt there is one). I make a mean rhubarb-strawberry whole wheat vegan muffin, though.
And duh, life without guac would suck.
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