Locavore In Training

Ok, let's just politely ignore that I used canned pumpkin, shall we? Last night I made pumpkin gnocchi. I didn't even realize gnocchi was on my list of things to make from scratch, but after seeing how easy it was, it will definitely be added to the easy dinner recipe list!

I found a new blog while searching for Gnocchi recipes. Mine came from Foodess.com, and boy, as it delicious and easy! I omitted the sage, only because I don't have any on hand, but I'll definitely try  it again with it! I changed the recipe a tiny bit by frying the cooked gnocchi in the browned butter until one side got crispy. I think this really added a nice texture.

Pumpkin Gnocchi

Source: Foodess.com

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cup flour, plus for rolling out dough
• 4 tbsp butter (original recipe called for 3 tbsp)
• 1/4 cup sage leaves (which I omitted)
• grated parmesan cheese
• salt, kosher or sea

1. Set a large pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, combine pumpkin, egg, salt, and nutmeg. Once mixed well, add flour in batches.

2. Flour hands, separate dough into 3-4 sections. (4 worked well for me.) Roll on floured work surface into 1-inch thick rope. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Repeat.

3. Add gnocchi into boiling water, and cook until they rise to the surface. This took 4-5 minutes. While gnocchi is cooking, melt butter in a saucepan. (Add sage leaves if you have them.) Cook until butter browns.

4. Drain gnocchi, (she suggested draining on paper towels, which I missed but seems like a good idea) then add to saucepan with brown butter and fry until crispy. Sprinkle with parmesan and salt.

Well, I ended up with 3/4 of a cup pumpkin left from dinner... So I turned it into breakfast! Spiced Pumpkin Buttermilk Biscuits. I changed nothing, so the recipe is here. I got 9 biscuits instead of 10, they rose beautifully and tasted amazing.

Oh, and did make ghee last night! Easy enough once I got the temperature right.

I wouldn't call this week the most successful week, in terms of the local food movement. We ended up eating out more than usual because my grocery purchases were so much less than normal. Sure, we could have eaten salads every night this week, but we didn't.

Not only that, so far, the most challenging meal is lunch. Jay and I usually take our lunches to work, his with sandwiches and fruit, mine is usually some type of frozen meal and fruit. We did have some fruit leftover from the previous week's shopping, as well as the bananas and mandarins I bought. It was still much less in both quantity and variety than usual, and there's just no such thing as a "local" frozen meal. I'm really stumped on how we can incorporate local food into our regular lunches. I'm sure there's a way, but I'm not sure to thinking out of the box yet.

Last night we had an almost completely local dinner though. We had a potato frittata and mixed green salad. The frittata was easy and really tasty.

I think, short term, my goal will be to just have the healthiest foods I can. This will include as much local food as possible, but in the absence of those options, I'll supplement with whole, healthy organic options as well. I'd rather eat an organic pear than none at all.

I found a great use for Swiss Chard tonight. It comes together quickly, and is quite filling. So pretty and it tasted great!