On our recent trip to Jamaica, Steph read a book about eating local foods. Though the author took the philosophy a bit far, they had some really good points. The one I like the best is eating what is in season because it is the freshest and tastiest at its peak. This also creates seasonal menus. For example: pumpkin pancakes in the fall.
We went with our community group to Huber’s Family Farm in the middle of October to pick pumpkins. We got one for our Annual Halloween Carving Contest and picked up two more for baking. Steph has mastered how to harvest fresh pumpkin.
She started this pancake recipe with fresh, home-pureed pumpkin. Then she found a recipe online and modified it to her preference. The result was fresh and delicious, fluffy pumpkin pancakes.
Then, she topped them with powdered sugar and local honey.
I know some of you out there (maybe not one of our two readers) don’t think there is that much difference in what you can pick up at your local grocery store and what you get at a farmers’ market. Though it is true that some things are nice to be able to get year round, like flour, other things lose a lot of their flavor in mass production.
Eggs, for instance, don’t have the same flavor. Free-range eggs are better because the chickens scavenge their normal diet of bugs in addition to the grain they are fed. This results in a thicker egg with a tougher yolk. They scramble up a lot brighter yellow and have a ton more flavor. They really add to the taste in everything from a scrambled egg sandwich to cookies. Check out this picture of free-range eggs. The color hasn’t been messed with at all.
- Free Range Scrambled Eggs
It has been an awesome morning with really good food.
I’ve realized this blog is almost always about food. That’s ok with me. Leave me a comment and tell me if there are other things you’d like to hear about.
Check out more pics on our facebook album.
We go to the local farmers market on Saturday mornings to get some of the best food around. Then we come home and have a breakfast fit for a king.
