Dairy Free Corn Casserole (Small Batch Thanksgiving)

This recipe makes a light (and dairy free) corn casserole. Skip the boxed mix and control your own ingredients!

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I am all about inclusion. Is that because I have a disabled kid? Because I love people who are LGBTQ? Because I share meals with folks who have different eating styles? Because I have lived in a country where I was a minority? I dunno. The result is that I strive to make everyone feel welcome at my table.

That doesn't mean I choose the lowest common denominator. My octogenarian house is accessible for my son but not for his sled hockey teammates. I won't plan an entirely meatless Thanksgiving meal for the lone vegetarian at the table--but I will choose vegetable stock over chicken stock in stuffing or in my Silken Turnip and Potato Soup so that more of the dishes on offer are appropriate for the folks who come together to share the meal.

This recipe came about because of two things:  my conflicting desires to have a lot of side dishes and a small batch Thanksgiving, coupled with my neighbor hosting her extended family for the holiday and having less control over the food on her table. Her son has a severe dairy and nut allergy, and even well-meaning relatives don't always think it through.

"There's no milk or nuts in these Rice Krispie Treats!"  "Did you butter the pan?"

"Yes! Oh . . . I didn't think of that." 

Since I was thinking it through, and wanted the challenge of re-imagining a corn pudding without using a box of corn muffin mix, I offered to bring over a dairy free corn casserole for her table.


I figured I could divvy the mixture between 2 dishes so that we'd get variety in our side dishes while she'd get another dish that she knew was safe for her son.

Fresh Peach and Corn Salsa

A fresh salsa perfect for summer snacking! Fresh corn and peaches tossed with spicy cilantro-lime mix uses the best of summer produce. Got your chips ready?

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One of the best things about eating with the seasons is the utter satisfaction of meals made with ingredients picked at their perfect ripeness. Think of strawberries in November, corn on the cob in January, tomatoes in March . . . they do not satiate you in as satisfying a way as their counterparts eaten 6 months later when locally available. [I'm speaking to my fellow Midwesterners and middle-of-the-East Coasters here, folks used to temperate climes. For those readers in tropical climates your ripening schedule mileage will indeed vary.]

We eat a lot of salsa around here. It's an after school snack for the kids, an "I just walked in the door from work and I'm STARVING" snack for my spouse, a bit of local food with many meals, and one of my most successful canning projects. Even though I put up plenty of tomato-based salsas, Salsa Verde with Roasted Hatch Chiles, Peach Salsa with Golden Plums, and Roasted Corn and Hatch Chile Salsa, I'm still lured by the availability of fresh seasonal produce.

When you've got a pile of ripe produce--gorge away, and then have at this salsa. The longest step, cooking the corn, can be done ahead of time. My eyes are always bigger than our bellies when I'm buying fresh ears of corn at the farmer's market, and corn is best when cooked soon after picking, so I always cook the whole batch at once and then use the cooked corn later. This peach and corn salsa is quick to make and easy to enjoy. May I suggest a Cheater Margarita Smoothie as the perfect summer sipper?

Cheesy Chile Corn Muffins (Gluten Free) #MuffinMonday

This gluten free muffin has fresh corn kernels, roasted chiles, and cheddar cheese folded into a cornmeal muffin base. It's terrific with a bowl of chili. It's MuffinMonday, do you know where your muffins are? I've got mine right here.

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I'm taking a break from the near constant flow of salsa (as evidenced by my Peach and Golden Plum Salsa, my Salsa Verde with Roasted Hatch Chiles, and my Roasted Corn and Chile Salsa) for another seasonal recipe that uses some of the same ripe seasonal veggies that I scurry around putting up each summer: corn and peppers.

When I moved to Ohio I discovered how easy it is to get piles of fresh corn on the cob. Sweet mercy, there are wagons heaped with fresh corn that appear in parking lots each July! My local grocery store's corn supplier is out picking EVERY MORNING and delivering daily. How can I NOT partake of all this bounty?

Roasted Corn and Hatch Chile Salsa (Canning Recipe)

This tangy salsa combines seasonal vegetables--corn, tomatoes, and peppers--into a base perfect for blending to make your own twist. This recipe can be canned so you can easily whip up summer flavors any time of year. Try it mixed with black beans, or chunks of avocado, stirred into taco meat or layered on a taco salad.

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What my kitchen looked like when I made this recipe. I was also pickling banana peppers and canning pizza sauce.

Ok let's get a few things straight.  First, I work on this site about a year ahead. That means what I am posting now are recipes I made & photographed a year ago. I do this mainly because by the time I get the photos edited and I'm ready to publish a post . . . I've missed the season.

A top down view of my tall pasta pot that I use for smaller canning projects. This holds half pint and pint jars easily, but when canning quart size jars I'd rather use a full size canning pot. I inherited this pot from my mom.

I mean, I harvested my garlic scapes in June, stuck them in the fridge, and didn't make my annual batch of Garlic Scape & Pistachio Pesto until July. It makes no sense to me to offer ideas for what you could have done with your fresh produce from your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share at a time when you no longer have that item to work with. So I opt to make, photograph, and sit on the recipes until I can post just in advance of when folks would be receiving their farm shares.

Second, as this month's recipes are showing, I made a lot of salsa last year. I'm so comfortable with salsa making that I'm teaching a salsa (how to can the tomato kind, not the dancing kind) class at my local community center next month. This year my cucumber vines are the darlings of the garden, so I am putting up several quarts of pickles each week. We'll do some taste testing over the winter and decide what's worthy of the website for next year.

The ingredients for roasted corn and Hatch chile salsa--I used a many colored bell peppers from the farm share.

Third, if nobody likes a recipe, it doesn't get up on the website.  This recipe narrowly made it here. I don't care for the salsa straight out of the jar. It's too limey for my tastes, though I understand that to boiling water bath process these low acid vegetables you've got to add additional acid so that they are safely preserved.  I know that taste is subjective, and maybe someone else likes that amount of tang.

How to Make a Roasted Farm Share Dinner

This combination of roasted green beans, corn, tomatoes and bacon is an example of the perfection of September. The nights are cool enough that a hot plate of vegetables is a welcome sight and the produce is still in full swing.

I'm proud to say that I threw the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share on the grill this summer. I had successes (check out the grilling category I added to my drop down recipe index on the right side bar). I had failures [I've fed far too many 'too small' eggplant slices to the Grill Gods with flipping failures] and I somehow drained a brand new tank of propane [I blame the deployment gremlins on that one] but overall the grill became my 'go to' appliance when I thought about how to feed the family from the farm share.

When the weather starts to cool down a wee bit I'm not afraid to turn on my oven. Instead of grilling ALL THE THINGS I start roasting what is abundant in the farm share box and at the farmer's market. I want to keep things easy, though, and clean up is one of those things I like to simplify.

After reading Aimée's Spring breakfast recipe I started trying out a few combinations. It's almost too easy to throw a bunch of vegetables in a pan, add some meat for additional flavoring, and have dinner done.

For other recipes using green beans, please see my Green Bean Recipes Collection. For other recipes using corn, please see my Recipes Using Corn Collection. These are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, and the garden bounty. 

Make Your Own Layered Taco Dip Bar

Set out skillets and bowls of your favorite fixings, along with plenty of chips, and let everyone make their own layered taco dip just the way they like.

I think this time of year is an ideal time to strut your stuff. Show off what you've been up to in the kitchen, show off the fabulous job your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers or you cousin's sister's daughter* did in the farm or garden. I think a Make Your Own Layered Taco Dip Bar is an excellent way to do so.

A Make Your Own Layered Taco Dip Bar works for a variety of eaters and appetites. Vegetarians and omnivores alike can heap their plates high, and if you just want a nibble of a few things you're good as well. It can be an appetizer spread or a full on meal. Most of the toppings can be prepared in advance, making this as easy as browning ground beef and whipping up a Fast & Easy 3 Ingredient Bean & Hatch Chile Dip.

You can set up this concept any time of year as fresh vegetables--while delightful--are not integral to the spread. Preserved [I've put up 4 kinds of salsa so far this year] and frozen vegetables work just fine. A Superbowl party, an entertainment industry award event, basketball playoffs, the Stanley Cup . . . [do they do something for baseball?] or just because. Or you could just set up a Make Your Own Layered Taco Dip Bar for a family dinner, like I've shown here.

My brilliant friend Cathy, upon hearing all about the salsas I've been making, suggested I host a Salsa and Margaritas party. I love the idea! Right now is hectic--along with putting up the garden bounty as it comes in fast & furious, I'm spending my energy helping my spouse deploy. The idea of a party is a wonderful thing to clean the house for look forward to, so I've scheduled one for later this year. I'll provide the house, my Cheater Margarita Smoothies and an assortment of salsas [and dogs, I also have an assortment of dogs--but they will be out of the way with the kids]. I will invite my guests to bring their favorite margaritas, guacamole or salsa, chips, or dessert. Let me know if you host one!

For more appetizers, please see my Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks board on Pinterest. For more Layered Vegetable Appetizers, please check out my Clickable Collages of Recipe Suggestions page and scroll own past the beets. Finally, because I started this blog not to bury Caesar my recipes, I've got both a Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient and a drop down menu of ideas on the right sidebar. Want to know how to use this blog? Click here.

Spicy Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder

A creamy soup of corn and sweet potatoes cooked in corn stock and spiced up with chorizo. A wonderful way to enjoy the bounty of late summer vegetables.

For other recipes using corn, please see my Recipes Using Corn Collection. For other recipes using sweet potatoes, please see my Sweet Potato Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, or the bounty of the garden.

One of my current failings with raising kids is my lack of follow through. [There's a corn cob connection here, but I'll meander first. Skip ahead to the recipe if you're squeamish.] I've got the "give your children chores" part down, I'm not always thorough on the follow up to see that the chore has been completed. Some chores are easy to follow through on--taking out trash, putting away clean laundry, clearing the table, walking the dogs.

My kids are in charge of emptying the compost bucket into one of the compost bins outside. Because an empty bucket comes back into the kitchen, I assumed the task has been satisfactorily completed.

Then I took Robert Barker on his morning walk and noticed what appeared to be chewed up corn cobs. Guess what? Corn cobs don't get digested, either. [That's the squeamish part, I'm deliberately being vague.]

Still, I didn't put it all together until my girl told her brother "just don't throw the compost, put it in the bin!" Aha! Apparently the raspberry canes had grown so much that he stopped bothering to lift them out of the way like she did. I sent him out with trimmers and now the path is clear and the compost is going into the bin.

Follow through--something I need to work on.

Spicy Korean-sauced Corn & Green Bean Skillet

Nearly a Korean Succotash, this skillet side dish of fresh corn and green beans is spiced up with a teriyaki and gochujang sauce.

Moving to Ohio I understood that I'd be living in a more rural area. Shoot, I drive past 3 farms just taking my daughter to sewing school [she made a medieval dress last week at camp--how cool is that?].

This fact reminds me of when I joined the Air Force to see the world. This suburbanite drove past 13 barns (!) en route to work each day. Quite a shift from the beltway and subway commutes I'd been used to, so I'd say I did see more of the world even before moving overseas and deploying.

What I hadn't expected in Ohio, and what was a happy surprise, was all the farm produce that appears every summer in addition to our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. There's a wagon with a red striped awning that parks next to a Tim Horton's with produce each week. A flat trailer that appears with corn in a shady area of a strip mall lot. A 'peach truck' I just heard about from a fellow band parent (but haven't seen yet--saving that for next year). And of course our local farmer's market, a few blocks down the street on Saturday mornings. Thanks to these folks I am able to squirrel away plenty of corn for winter while still enjoying some ears fresh.

note to self--get a pedicure before next farm share box photo

For more recipes using corn, please see my Recipes Using Corn Collection. For more using green beans, please see my Green Bean Recipes Collection. These are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the abundance of fresh produce in my community, and from generous neighbors. I'm on a Corn Sweet Corn Pinterest board with loads of ideas from around the web, follow that for more ideas or follow me in general for all of my pins. Want to know how to use this blog? Click here.

Chicken & Roasted Vegetable Couscous Salad

Sautéed chicken and a blend of roasted sweet potato, broccoli, corn and peppers combined into a main dish salad with couscous.

I thought I'd share a bit about how my cooking style changes once our weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share has ended for the season.

First, I give a big sigh of relief because I know I've made it through another season. I've nurtured my family with food grown by our farmers, our garden, our friends and a rogue compost bin. We have tried new foods with both successes and failures [the failures appear on my FB page, not on the blog].

Second, I'm still doing some vegetable triage. The remaining greens and root veggies in the crisper have priority over the squash and potatoes of the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve (SWSR) in my cold basement. When the fridge is cleared out (celeriac, a red cabbage and kohlrabi are the last holdouts) I'll plan meals based on the items in the SWSR and the freezer.  That's the key--plan meals.

Instead of winging it based on what needs to be used up NOW, I could take stock and thoughtfully plot out meals, thaw meats and vegetables, and work to eat down the supply of food in the house.

As if I will thoughtfully plan anything beyond what's for dinner tonight.

Even if I forget to plan ahead and end up just winging it for dinner, having bags of frozen chopped vegetables sure makes things easier. I can make quick soups using put up stocks and frozen chopped vegetables. The other night my girl wasn't feeling well [she claims she has the plague as she coughs daintily into her hand] and within an hour I had a turkey & wild rice soup, with curry and ginger, ready to eat thanks to my freezer.

This main dish salad works along the same lines. Using prepped and frozen CSA farm share vegetables (broccoli, corn and bell peppers) along with some sweet potatoes from the SWSR and a red onion I fixed us a hearty meal without too much pre-planning. Eating local vegetables while the frozen backyard turns into the muddy back yard--that's a Good Thing. [Three dogs and a muddy back yard? Not so much of a Good Thing.]

With luck, the foods I've canned and frozen will last until next summer, just in time for the CSA season to begin [note to self, mail check out this week to the farm!]. In the meantime I will be shopping for fruits, mushrooms, fresh salad and whatever else looks good or is marked down.
I'll keep blogging, too, sharing seasonal recipes all along the way.

Sweet & Sour Ham Balls & Upcycling Food

Ham and ground beef form the base of these meatballs, baked in a sweet and sour sauce. Great as an appetizer or over rice. Read on for how I upcycle one holiday ham into 2 new dishes.

As my brain kicks over into Holiday Mode [doubtless spurred by the failures--shown on my FB page--when I branch out in a new cookie direction despite having a baking deadline plus production quota for the Airmen's Cookie Drive] I'm uncovering a tendency to value traditional flavors over the latest food fad. [Not that I'm up on food fads--I'm utterly behind the times in food and fashion both.] During the holidays it seems, more than usual, I need to make each kitchen session count. That's where the second half of the post title, Upcycling Food, comes into play.

Making a beloved Thanksgiving Leftovers Casserole--layering mashed potatoes, stuffing/dressing, turkey and gravy into one yummy dish--is not upcycling. I'm not making something entirely different with the leftovers, I'm just repackaging the same goodness in a different container. While I love that casserole, it's not the concept I wish to expound upon.  I want to talk about upcycling--making something entirely new out of previously used materials.

When we moved in the back yard was partially fenced. We knew we'd be getting a dog [though we didn't know we'd get two more, then lose one, then get another--nor did we know that I'd start a blog and chronicle our pet population with pizza recipes] so we planned to have the partial fence removed and a new fence put in to completely enclose the yard. My clever spouse took a look at the still perfectly useful cedar fence and suggested he use it to make our raised beds.  As you can see through my little collage, it worked.  He upcycled the fence boards into raised beds which we filled with dirt, manure, leaves, and more manure. Then I grew food. It always comes back to the food with me.

This recipe is from my grandma (Mrs Harry Olsen of Fort Frances, Ontario) who was given it by Kathleen Smith (Mrs George C.B. Smith). When my mom wrote in the notes that it was given to my grandma 'years ago' we're talking a long time ago! This recipe has been made in our family since when, Mom?
These ham balls use a pound of cooked ham--if you serve ham at a holiday meal, you can serve ham balls as an appetizer at a holiday party, then serve Ham Ball & Black Eyed Pea Chirashi Rice for New Year's good luck.  That's 3 different meals out of one ham, that's upcycling, and that's almost all I've got to say about that.*

Tamale Pie with Hatch Chiles

This one pan gluten free meal combines beef and vegetables with cheese under a cornbread crust.

Full Disclosure: I've never eaten real authentic tamale pie before, though I have eaten real tamales* and assisted in the Big Production that goes into making them. I confess I first got the recipe for tamale pie off the bag of a bag of cornbread mix. It called for cans of chili, shredded cheese, and packages of cornbread mix. I fixed it while my spouse and I were still in the first throes of living as man and wife [we'd been married for a while, but it took us a long time to actually live in the same country] and it was fast, easy, and tasty.

This recipe is not quite as fast as emptying a few cans into a skillet, but it's close.

After I got more adventurous in cooking, I started making tamale pie using my own meat mixture, and then later using my own cornbread.  Ever since we joined a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, I'm constantly looking for ways to add additional vegetables into familiar dishes.  You can never have too many vegetables (unless your farm share pick up is the day after tomorrow and you've still got two crispers full of beets and kale veggies).

Last summer, before Butch came into my freezer, I managed to combine chiles from New Mexico, beef from Michigan, and corn from Delaware along with patty pan squash and red onions from Ohio into a tamale pie.  We'd returned from a beach vacation in time to walk down the street to the local grocery store and grab a couple of quarts of freshly roasted Hatch chiles.  I couldn't wait to get started on salsa verde (my usual use for Hatch chiles) so I chopped up chiles and used them in both the filling and the topping for this dish. The kids and I enjoyed the tamale pie so much I put it into the rotation, not that I have much of a rotation what with trying new things all the time, but still. It was a keeper. This is a tasty way to add some summer veggies + ground beef into a one pot meal.

Lately you may have noticed that I've been using lots of Hatch chiles from New Mexico, which 'tis true are not local to me here in Ohio.  Aside from the fact that these chiles taste good--and I don't have to do the roasting--New Mexico has a soft spot in my heart. I've been to New Mexico on vacation, twice, and got married there each time. I married the same guy [we forgot to take photos the first time, or invite our folks, so a re-do was appropriate].  It's not a bad state to get married in--you just needed $25 cash and a photo ID, the minimum age was 13 years old, and my marriage was recognized by the rest of the country. What's not to like? And, as a bonus, they grow tasty chiles there--though as far as I know I've never eaten a Hatch chile in New Mexico. Perhaps if we get hitched again . . . though my spouse would not appreciate a 3rd anniversary to remember.

For more recipes using Hatch chiles, please see my Hatch Chile Recipe Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. For even more ideas using all kinds of peppers, from mild bell to spicy chiles, check out my friend Kristy's site JalapeñoMania. On my FB page I'm sharing recipes from other bloggers, and I'm pinning good stuff all over my Pinterest boards. Wanna know how to use this blog? Click here.

Fresh Corn, Hatch Chile & Feta Pizza

Fresh corn, roasted Hatch chiles, and feta cheese top this vegetarian summer pizza.

Even though the humans are remarking on the unseasonable weather this summer, the vegetables are going about their business as usual. It had [please notice past tense] been so unusually NOT hot & muggy that I really never considered grilling our Friday Night Pizza using the Mr BarBQ Grill Stone Pizza Set** that I won on Barry's blog Welcome to the Cookout!™. Speaking of winning . . . .

Did I mention that I won that prize? I did? Good. As with all giveaways, someone's going to win the entire prize package of kitchen tools and cookbooks I've been reminding you about lately. It may as well be you. I can't enter, and besides I already won a pizza set. I'm good. You can't win the #IceCreamWeek giveaway unless you enter. The contest ends on August 31st--enter here! 

Fresh Corn & Hatch Chile Sauté

Fresh sweet corn cut right off the cob, sautéed with roasted Hatch chiles, tomatoes, and onion for a simple, fast and flavorful vegetarian or vegan side dish

I'm really not sure why this dish exceeded my expectations. If you start with fresh, local, seasonal ingredients you invariably come up with delicious foods with little effort. One example is this colorful side of freshly sautéed corn kernels spiced up with roasted Hatch chiles.

I was so busy with the social media sharing aspect of #IceCreamWeek [have you entered? the giveaway ends 31 August. One winner takes ALL. Enter here!] that I had very little mental energy for thinking up new and interesting ways to cook the veggies in our farm share.

Grilled Cheese with Guacamole and Corn Salsa

Guacamole, hummus, and corn & black bean salsa nestled into the middle of a grilled cheese sandwich.  A delicious leftover repurposed into a snack.

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Leftover guacamole is like a Christmas tree on the lot on December 26th.  No one wants it.  Sure, you can cover it with plastic wrap . . . or water (check out these terrific kitchen hacks) . . . to help with the oxidation, but the fact is it's a has-been.

Or is it?

I turned some game day leftovers into a yummy grilled cheese sandwich, and before Grilled Cheese month [who thinks of these things? Zucchini bread day?Apple turnover week?] ends I wanted to share it with you.

I'm glad to even the score between vegetarian grilled cheese sandwiches and those containing meat on this blog, as I think grilled cheese (and tomato soup) is one of those combinations that appeal to a wide variety of eaters.

Earlier this month we stopped for grilled cheese on the way home from a Spring break trip to have my phone stolen at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. [Am I the only one who is scouting the opposite side of the road for places to eat on the way home when we've just barely embarked on a trip?]  We were surrounded by multigenerational families, couples, and individuals all enjoying a grilled cheese sandwich. [We stopped at Fair Oaks Farms and bought gooey grilled cheese sandwiches on bread that managed to be both soft and chewy--must investigate different kinds of bread for my sandwiches.]

I think I ranted enough about using your leftovers the other day with my Taco Rice Tortilla Pizza post.  Today I'd just like you to enjoy a tasty, if a bit messy, sandwich.  And rest assured I've got some other grilled cheese ideas kicking around for next April!

For more recipes using Avocados, please see my Avocado Recipes Collection. For more recipes using beans, please see my Beans/Legumes Recipes Collection. For more recipes using corn, please see my Recipes Using Corn Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, repurposed leftovers, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

I'm sharing more recipes on my Pinterest boards, follow me there. If you like a good peek behind the scenes like I do, follow me on Instagram. Need a good read? I'm sharing articles of interest on my Facebook page, follow me there. Want to know How to Use This Blog?

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili with Hatch Chiles, Corn, and Beef

Sweet and spicy chili that simmers in the slow cooker for an easy supper. This chili has beef, sweet potatoes, 3 kinds of beans, corn, peppers and Hatch chiles for amazing flavor

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When my friend Mary brought her Sweet Potato and Black Bean chili to the thrift shop for lunch, I spooned up that bowl of spicy comfort and was smitten.  Mary's chili, adapted from The Clueless Vegetarian (Amazon affiliate link) was spicy yet went down smoothly, and like all great chilies each person can customize their bowl with a variety of toppings.

I don't know about you, but I tend to become smitten with foods and cook them over and over.  Being a seasonal eater works well with this tendency, because I'm always moving onto what's up next, seasonally, and don't really have time to get into food ruts. At least it works well when fresh vegetables are appearing each week in our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share box!  During the winter months I tend to rely on the produce that can store longer, like the sweet potatoes and butternut squash in the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve, as well as vegetables I've canned or frozen.

I was so smitten with this chili that I made it several times. Each time I loved it even more.  My kids gobbled it up.  Shoot, it was even the first leftover my spouse scrounged out of the fridge when he returned from his most recent deployment.  The combination of colorful beans and sweet potatoes from this chili inspired my Harvest Sweet Potato Salsa.

Serving chili is a great meal for a variety of eaters--you can top it with a whole host of extras if you like.  Some of our favorite toppings:

• red and green salsas
• pickled peppers
• black olives
• shredded cheese
• sour cream
• tortilla chips

My friend Rebbie hosted a chili party which included an oven full of baked potatoes.  My kids created their own loaded baked potatoes from Rebbie's topping selections and missed out on her award-winning chili, but we all went home full and happy.

Harvest Sweet Potato Salsa

Roasted sweet potatoes and corn tossed with beans and avocado in an red and green salsa dressing. One of the ways I put up food to eat local all year long.

When the garden is barren and there's snow falling down is a strange time to talk about harvest and abundant vegetables, no?

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I think it's exactly the right time.  You see, the vegetables I used in this salsa--the corn, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and tomatillos that is*--came from my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share.  George, Mark, Josh and Erik of Patchwork Gardens grew and harvested them, and we got a weekly box of locally-grown vegetables during the growing season.  Once in my kitchen, I performed Vegetable Triage--eating what won't keep, freezing or canning what can be put up, and using a cold corner of my breakfast nook as my Strategic Winter Squash Reserve (link to a photo on my FB page) for the long storage crops.  Even though the fields are brown, we're still eating the fruits of our farmers' labors.

If you'd like to know more about where your food is grown, now is the time to research local eating in your area.  Up on the left sidebar is a Local Harvest gadget.  If you're in the US, type in your zip code and see what's available near you.  Signing up with a CSA farm share before the season starts means your farmers will have the funds to purchase or repair equipment like the potato harvester shown here, which harvested the sweet potatoes I used in this salsa.

Photo credit Marguerite Mertz/Patchwork Gardens

*See the avocados in the second photo? Yeah, they sure are not local to Ohio and one of the reasons (along with bananas and salmon, vanilla and chocolate, tea and olive oil) that I will never be a completely local eater.  To me, local food just tastes better (think garden tomato vs store-bought) so I put my efforts into eating local food where I can.  I am fortunate to have a choice where I spend my dollars on food, and I choose to keep my money in my local community when possible.  It's why I started this blog and organized my Visual Recipe Index by produce type--to help other folks eat locally as well.

Visit all the other Appetizer Week Peeps for more Munchie Causing Goodness:

• Pizza Dip by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Steak and Potato Bites by Kiss My Smoke
• Gluten Free Brie en Croute by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
• Caramelized Onion, Brie, and Pear Crostini by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Easy Low-Carb Chicken Dip by Yours and Mine Are Ours
• Caramelized Onion Dip by Cooking in Stilettos
• Tuna Bruschetta by What's Cooking, Love?
• Harvest Sweet Potato Salsa by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Parmesan Chips by Makobi Scribe
• Mini Cheeseburgers by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies by Clarks Condensed
• Baked Buffalo Chicken Bites by From Gate to Plate
• Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Apricots by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Crock Pot Party Meatballs by My Catholic Kitchen
• Bacon Cheese Popcorn by Life Off the Clock
• Empanada Mini Pies by The NY Melrose Family
• Buffalo Chicken Tortilla Pinwheels by Home Cooking Memories
• Easy Cheesy Mexican Dip by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• French Onion Grilled Cheese Stackers by Mom's Test Kitchen
• Root Beer Chicken Wings by Try Anything Once Culinary
• Low Sodium Swiss Cheeseburger Stuffed Mushrooms by Cookerati