This is my second year participating in one local summer. At first I thought I would forego the "obligation" of the photos, the blog post, etc. Then I went to the farmer's market and saw all that wonderful, fresh produce and knew I'd be making several local meals each week anyway, might as well share, right?
This week's meal was locally raised baked chicken breast. I dipped the breasts in beaten egg (from our own backyard flock), then dredged them in a mixture of breadcrumbs (from homemade bread), local goat Parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Oh my, were they ever good! And the aroma while they baked was out of this world.
A fitting accompaniment was Asparagi alla Parmagiana, made with asparagus from one of the many local farmer's markets. First, I steam the asparagus until just tender, about five minutes, then refresh under cold water to stop the cooking. Place the asparagus spears in a large baking dish, dot with butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese - both local, of course, if you can. Sprinkle with salt and a fair amount of pepper and bake at 450 degrees until the cheese and butter form a browned crust.
Still, there would be a hole in the plate; I needed to make something else to accompany the meal. A whole grain would be nice, but what? There aren't many grains grown locally here in Iowa. Since there was a lot of Parmesan in this meal, it seemed only fitting to turn to a favorite cookbook The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook for inspiration, and wa la! Broiled polenta, sprinkled with pepper and oregano, rounded out the meal.
Then dessert - oooh, dessert!
I always leave room for dessert, but this one was not only luscious, but healthy, ripe and red.
Fresh picked strawberries from our strawberry patch.
There is nothing like the taste of a homegrown berry, still warm from the sunshine, popped straight into your mouth.
These were served sliced, with or without sugar, according to taste.
The freshness, tastiness, and satisfaction of an early summer meal.
There's nothing quite like it.
2 comments:
Yum. wanna cook for me?
I'm so glad you decided to participate! Strawberries, straight up and freshly picked - that is the best dessert one could ask for. I love the asparagus that is in the markets now. Have you ever made polenta with the asparagus mixed in?
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