The first was a lunch early on in the week. I had some leftover sauteed red pepper and onion so I sliced up some mushrooms, heated them in a pan then cracked a few eggs over them and made a scramble with the veggies and the eggs.

The second was a variation on a theme. My husband had been enjoying the kabobs I’ve been making so much that I made them again – this time with beef. I bought cubed beef from Hillsacres Pride at Collingswood Farmers Market on Saturday morning and marinated them for several hours with assorted veggies I bought, too – mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, green pepper, onion, and grape tomatoes. Here’s the recipe I used for the marinade. I served just picked that morning corn on the cob on the side. It was a delicious and satisfying meal.

Sorry there are no pictures this week – the egg scramble was yummy but didn’t look so pretty so I purposely didn’t take a picture. I simply forgot to take pictures of the kabobs and corn.

1st corn on the cob of the summer purchased at The Westmont Farmers Market

My one local summer meal this week had to contain corn on the cob, of course. It finally showed up this week, just in time for the Fourth of July like it always does. Really, I think I could eat an entire meal just of Jersey Fresh corn on the cob. But, I didn’t serve it alone. 

I served it with soft tacos made from local ground beef  fresh Jersey tomato, sauteed

Sauteed onions and red pepper bought at The Collingswood Farmers Market

onion and red pepper, and cheese. The beef and vegetables were all bought at the farmers market. The tortillas and cheese were not local.

According to my ten year old, it was a “really, really, really, really good dinner.”

I can’t wait till Saturday morning to get to the farmers market for some more corn!

All of the ingredients for this came from the Collingswood Farmers Market.

• Chicken – Hillsacres Pride – I bought a whole breast and deboned it. I used half for the kabobs and I’ve got the other half still in the freezer.
• Veggies – mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash and onions all came from various farmers at the market – I usually try to buy a little produce from each vendor.
• Honey – Mind Your Own Beeswax Wild Flower Honey out of Jacobstown. This is the best honey I’ve ever had.

These kabobs are great because you can use whatever vegetables are in season and change them as the summer goes on. In a few weeks, I’ll be adding peppers to the mix. It’s also the perfect meal if you’re trying to reduce the amount of meat you’re eating. You can load the skewer up with veggies and three or four pieces of meat, and you don’t feel deprived at all. I suppose you could even use the marinade just vegetables and have Yummy Honey Veggie Kabobs.

Click here for last week’s Farm to Philly post on the East Coast One Local Summer participants and see what others are making from our local foods.

Last night was the closest I got. I bought fresh sea scallops at Wegmans that were caught off the Jersey coast and bacon from the farmers market to make an appetizer of scallops wrapped in bacon. I’d never made them that way before and after reading several recipes for marinades for the scallops and sauces to drizzle on top – I chose to just pre-cook the bacon a little and wrap it around the scallops that were seasoned simply with salt and pepper. I cooked them in my grill pan. They were delicious prepared that way. 

We’ve had our friends’ three kids for the weekend so hamburgers and hot dogs were the easiest thing to do for dinner last night. Same burgers as last week – the local beef made the burgers but the rest of meal was from the grocery store. I had a fleeting thought that I could reheat some of the leftover zucchini and yellow squash and put it on a plate with the scallops, take a picture,  then say that was my meal last night, but why? I didn’t succeed 100% this week, but I’m incorporating local more and more. I’m not going to beat myself up, and I’m not going to pretend I’m doing more than I am.

School ends this week and there is definitely only one more little league game left of the season so I hope to have more time to plan. I know what I’m making this upcoming week – I bought all the ingredients at the farmers market yesterday morning. I will cook a local meal this week.

Every week on Farm to Philly, regional coordinators (of which I am not one – for once I didn’t volunteer to do something)  are compiling all of the blog posts from those participating in One Local Summer. I’m in the Northeast region for their purposes, and my SJL post from over the weekend on my local meal has been mentioned along with others in the region. 

It’s interesting to look and see what others are cooking up from local ingredients through the regional post. It’s also a great source of inspiration for local meals. No doubt, as the summer progresses, I’ll be stealing a few of my fellow One Local Summer challengers meal ideas, and I welcome them to do the same with mine, if what I’m cooking up appeals to them.

I suggest you click here and check out for yourself what’s cooking locally like a crustless spinach and mushroom quiche or a grilled chicken salad. You might be inspired yourself.

So what was my local meal?  A cheeseburger and a side of green peas braised with lettuce and scallion. Here’s the low down:

Cheeseburger

beef: Grass-fed beef from Hillacres Pride Farms in Lancaster County, PA. They sell their beef at the Collingswood Farmers Market for $5/pound or 3 pounds for $12. It’s really good beef.

cheese: Not local – blue cheese crumbles.

bun: Not local – basic burger bun leftover from my son’s birthday party bbq.

Green peas braised with lettuce and scallions

Peas: Not local – frozen

Scallions: from grocery store labeled Jersey Fresh but unsure where they came from

Bib lettuce: from Flaim Farm out of Vineland – bought at Collingswood Farmers Market

Mint: from my friend Beth’s backyard

Wine used for braising: Not local, I had an open bottle of Pinot Grigio and I couldn’t justify opening a local bottle for a 1/4 cup

Butter: Not local

I’m off to plan so next week’s One Local Summer is a bit more local.

Farm to Philly is hosting the One Local Summer challenge for the second year. The challenge is simple. Once a week for 13 weeks in summer (June 1 – August 30) you cook a meal using only local ingredients with the exception of oil, salt, pepper and spices. If I’m understanding the website correctly, you’ll be given an area co-ordinator to report to about the meal you cook, and that area co-ordinator will write a round up blog post weekly.

Are you up for the challenge? Last year I was not, and I didn’t sign up although I did give cooking local meals a try (you can see one of my attempts that was half successful here). This year I’ve signed up for the challenge. I’ll be posting my meals and recipes here to keep me motivated to see it through.

Registration for One Local Summer closes on May 30th, and you don’t have to be from the Philly region to participate. Anyone, anywhere can sign up.