Local Eating on the Road--Six Ways to Make it Work

Subtitle: How to Survive a Summer Vacation When You Have a CSA farm share

Regular readers will note that my posts have been a bit 'off' recently. I apologize. I tried to blog while on the road and without my ailing laptop. It did not work out swimmingly. The long miles on the open road have given me time to think about this post, though, so that's a plus. Rather than share my vacation slides interspersed with my rumination, I'll give you the BLUF [military acronym meaning Bottom Line Up Front] now. If you're interested in the epic family road trip dubbed Flora Fauna Americana, keep on scrolling.

• Do your homework before you go. But be flexible!

• Be willing to explore a bit off the interstate. Don't be afraid to call an audible.

• Ask locals for recommendations.

• Try local specialties--splurge, you can economize in other ways.

• Raid your farm share for snacks on the road. And speaking of farm shares, 

• Have a friend take over your farm share pickup while you are away.

Pay attention--don't make me turn this wagon around.

Before I get into the details of these suggestions, our vacation by the numbers:

3800 photos taken, mostly by my spouse
3600 miles on the rental car, mostly one way
17 National Forests, Grasslands, Historic sites, Memorials, Monuments and Parks
12 times we drove over the Continental divide
11 bighorn sheep
10 hotels, mostly Holiday Inn Express because of their pancake machine
9 De Laval cream separators in 3 museums
8 states (three of them start with I)
7 museums 
6 glaciers
5 geysers
4 ships inside buildings
3 time zones
2 dinosaur sites
1 cave
Finding my relative's signature on a church record on the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota:  PRICELESS

We saw bison, Columbian ground squirrels and 13 stripe chipmunks, prairie dogs and pronghorn antelope, elk and osprey and eagles, and cows, sheep, and goats.

We explored state sites, parks, and forests in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota.

We enjoyed the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and Dugout site in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. The Ingalls Homestead and Museum in De Smet, South Dakota. The Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. The Buffalo Bill Museum in LeClaire, Iowa. The National Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, Iowa. The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. The Miracle of America Museum in Polson, Montana. We did not miss the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota nor Al's Oasis and Wall Drug off Interstate 90 going across South Dakota.

Did you know Abraham Lincoln had his own BBQ sauce?

We ate at the Steer Inn in Indianapolis, Indiana, the St Olaf Tap in St Olaf, Iowa, Nick's Hamburger Shop in Brookings, South Dakota, Pauly's Pizza in Rapid City, South Dakota, the Wagon Box Inn in Story, Wyoming, and the Belton Chalet in West Glacier, Montana.

Spotted at Danebod in Tyler, Minnesota.

Do your homework before you go. But be flexible!

We [ok my spouse] got the Roadfood book (Amazon affiliate link) by Jane and Michael Stern. Check your local library, and there's even a Kindle edition. He printed out the pertinent pages--regions of the country we'd be passing through--and included them in our travel folder. Because of his efforts I sat on a shady deck in Story, Wyoming enjoying ripe avocado slices and crisp bacon tucked into a soft roll in a turkey bacon avocado sandwich at the Wagon Box Inn.

Things did not always go according to plan. We intended to eat lunch at the Mug 'n Bun while passing by Indianapolis, but a mix up in directions and the GPS sent us to the Steer Inn. I had a tasty Pizza Burger. We learned after we arrived that it was featured on Food Network--so check out the website before you go to see if there's something nearby you'd like to try (Food Network restaurant search link).

Be willing to explore a bit off the interstate. Don't be afraid to call an audible.

When we crossed the Mississippi river into Iowa we knew our end goal was north to Minnesota, but we had time and no need to stay on the interstate. Plenty of time to wander among the rolling hills of NE Iowa to St Olaf and a delicious pork tenderloin sandwich and frosty mug of root beer. Call an audible and explore the Buffalo Bill museum in LeClaire if you're in the area.

Ask locals for recommendations.

After a tour of Wind cave in Wind Cave National Park we asked the rangers for ideas for a place to grab a bite on our way to our next [Mammoth] site. They steered us to a lovely restaurant, Woolly's, for a bacon cheeseburger salad and Dorothy Lynch dressing.

While visiting family in Montana we ate at Belton Chalet. There were flowers on the food when it was served, people. Edible flowers--on bison meatloaf, grilled pork chops, mac and cheese, and these amazing porcini-filled pasta purses with shaved Brussels sprouts! That's so not my usual burger and fries. It was quite a treat. Such delicious meals can be found more easily by talking with the folks who live and eat nearby.

Try local specialties--splurge, you can economize in other ways.

Military families tend to spend vacation time heading home to spend time with family. While that is lovely, we welcomed the opportunity to see some of the rest of the country and just went for it. When we ate in national parks my spouse and I made it a point to try local specialties. I had Idaho trout for breakfast at Jackson Lake Lodge and smoked fish for lunch in Yellowstone National Park, as one example, and the couple dollars more over the other entrees was worth it. Sure, you could eat burgers every day [I believe my daughter did, if you include bison burgers] but why not branch out a bit? To economize, we mostly stayed in hotels that had breakfast included, we brought some snacks from home, and typically ate out once a day. [Had we not been flying home at the end of the trip we could have packed in more food, drinks, and a better cooler.]

Raid your farm share for snacks on the road.

The day before we left I sliced up all the carrots, radishes and celery left in the crisper [I put the tops & tips into Soup Packs in the freezer]. Kohlrabi, beets and banana peppers went into pickling brine. With some store-bought hummus in disposable containers we were set for the first few days of the trip. Long-storing Costco snacks and stops at grocery stores carried us the rest of the time.

Have a friend take over your farm share pickup while you are away.

Lots of folks want to try the idea of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, but a 20 week season can be a daunting commitment. Having a curious friend take over a week helps you out and could gain your farmers a new subscriber.

One more--throughout our time in Yellowstone I had terrible cell phone reception. I'm not complaining--I was on vacation and even if I felt weird being unreachable that's my problem. However, while walking on the boardwalks near Old Faithful my phone rang.  Of all the places for it to ring, and all the reasons for it to ring, here I am arranging a wheelchair fitting appointment for my son in the middle of rare geothermal features. I could only laugh.

Enjoy your vacation. Stay off the phone and the computer and make lots of memories.

Pink Pickled Banana Peppers for Sandwiches

This is a fun little sandwich topping to whip up if you've got a beet and a handful of banana peppers.

If you are a gardener, hope is your best ally. And soil amendments. Hope and good dirt.

Between the vagaries of weather and varmints, you really need to be made of strong stuff--and have a lot of hope--to want to plant year after year. The first year? Optimism is available in spades. After that? It takes some doing.

After asking for 'all the vegetables' on my order at sub shops, I realized I love the zing of pickled banana peppers on my sandwiches. Since I got over my fear of making pickles I realized how damn easy it is to put up a jar or two. Produce + vinegar + water + garlic + time = pickles. I figured I could grow a few banana pepper plants and put up my own pickles.

The first year I planted one plant and harvested maybe 6-8 peppers over the course of 6 weeks. You can see how I used one here in my Layered Summer Vegetable Appetizer.

The second year I planted two plants. One fell into the swamp a varmint knocked one tiny plant over soon after planting [part of the reason I don't start my own seeds--I have less emotional investment in a plant if it fails soon after planting]. The survivor managed to produce probably a dozen or so peppers over the course of the summer. Once I even had enough ripe simultaneously, when combined with a pint of peppers from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, to put up a pint of pickled peppers. Woot.

This year, I planted 3 plants.  My hope has paid off. In spades. 

On a whim right before vacation, or rather born from the desperation of needing to empty the garden and fridge before a long trip where we ate locally while on the road, I whipped up a batch of quick refrigerator pickles using a leftover kohlrabi and a bunch of banana peppers that wouldn't last in the garden for 2 weeks. I had one beet left from the farm share and decided to peel and slice it and add to the jars. The result is so fun! Pink pickled peppers. I can see these diced on top of a deviled egg or egg salad, in grilled cheese, on pizza, or in sandwiches. Plenty of sandwiches--how pretty is that?

Grilled Korean Chicken Thighs with Squash and Peppers

A flavorful meal of Korean-seasoned farm share vegetables and chicken thighs, grilled and served with bok choy and rice. Told ya I was throwing the farm share on the grill!

I may not be superstitious but I do believe in signs.  When I read a recipe for bibimbap and learn that the secret is a spoonful of Korean hot pepper bean paste (gochujang) which keeps for a while once opened, in the fridge my brain makes a mental note "get gochujang". When I read an article calling for gochujang to make sweet & spicy grilled vegetables and chicken thighs right when I've got the veggies from the farm share--I just go for it. Even with a too small grill (this was last year).

This recipe makes a pretty snazzy meal, a departure from my usual simply seasoned & grilled goodies. This complex flavor is deceptively simple--you throw some stuff in a bowl, whisk it together, pour it into 2 bags, dump prepped veggies and chicken into those bags, throw them in the fridge and walk away. When you're ready to cook, fire up the grill and the rice cooker, do a bit of work on the stove (or use your grill as a summer kitchen) and you're sitting down to a flavorful meal pretty quickly.

For other recipes using patty pan squash, please see my Summer Squash Recipe Collection. For other recipes using peppers, please see my Pepper Recipe Collection. For other recipes using bok choy, please see my Bok Choy Recipe Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me looking for ways to enjoy the produce from the farm share, farmers market, or generous gardener.

Pizza with Beet Greens, Potato and Sausage

A savory and satisfying pizza with a roasted garlic oil base topped with sautéed beet greens, potatoes and sausage.

When life rattles you, go back to basics to find your groove.

My groove is Friday night pizza night. My family likes to eat pizza and watch movies in the basement on Friday nights, and I like to use the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share to feed us.

You could say it's a winning combination.

Making pizzas using farm share ingredients is a technique I've developed over time, 10 farm share seasons to be precise. I've shared homemade pizza how to do so in My Pizza Primer and Seven Tips for Making Pizzas at Home posts. Not all pizzas have been winners so they don't appear on this blog, but for the most part adding some farm fresh vegetables to a pizza greatly enhances the flavor and decreases the remaining amount of veggies in the fridge.

My fridge--no, I want to talk about my freezers. I've defrosted and reorganized all freezer space in the past day, all because my neighbor called and said she was half an hour out with half a cow, and did we want any? Thanks to a friend who offered empty freezer in her garage for the 'ack I don't know what to do with all this there's no room'--i.e., the heart, tongue(s) and liver--I managed to fit everything in while still saving room in the fruit and vegetable freezer for putting up summer produce. I'm not back in that groove yet though--there are banana peppers to be pickled, and they can just keep hanging out on the plant because I am not yet ready!

For other recipes using beet greens, please see my Beet Recipes Collection. For other recipes using potatoes, please see my Potato Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. For other pizza ideas, and I've got a whole mess of them, please see the Visual Pizza Recipe Index, or my Friday Night Pizza Night Pinterest board.

Fast and Easy Fruit and Yogurt Crepes

Boughten* crepes stuffed with seasonal fruit, topped with a bit of honey-sweetened yogurt, makes a fast dessert out of what's on hand.

*Yes, still on my "boughten" kick. I've re-read all of the Little House books and will start on Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Amazon Affiliate link) next. Seeing a bunch of Little House sites in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota on our recent vacation has me in the mood.

Reading the books is one thing, but actually seeing some of the buildings Laura lived in as a child? Whoa. Her description of the surveyor's house, where she and her family spent their first winter in what would become De Smet, SD made it seem like a pretty big place. I was not prepared for the reality of standing in the same building--thinking of it filled with overnight guests when our small tour group could barely squeeze in! Then again, after seeing claim shanties I can see why she'd think a house positively palatial.

When I was a kid, my mom had the knack for making dessert out of nothing. She'd slice up some bananas into a bowl, add a sprinkle of brown sugar and a splash of milk and boom--something sweet that satisfied.

With these crepes I'm attempting to do the same thing--a quick and easy dessert to satisfy a sweet tooth. I've made them with put up peaches as well as ripe bananas. They'd be great with fresh blueberries as well. It's a simple dessert, but I don't usually think of easy and simple desserts so I'm sharing it in case someone else is like me and needs to make something out of nothing.

Grilled Napa Cabbage and Chicken Skillet--Using the Grill as a Summer Kitchen

Too hot inside? Power out? Use your grill as a summer kitchen to make this Napa cabbage and chicken skillet supper.

I could start off by saying my kitchen is hot.

I could make innuendos about how hot my mattress feels. [In my opinion, Tempuerpedic sleeps hot.]

I could whine about my 80+ year old windows and their lack of insulation [what they lack in insulation they make up in charm?].

Zucchini Lime Cupcakes

Shredded zucchini and fresh lime zest in tender cupcakes topped with a glaze of fresh lime juice.

I'm having a heck of a time getting posts entered into the computer using my spouse's iPad. Until I am reunited with my computer, I'm going to let the pictures do most of  the talking for these treats.

Desserts are not really my thing, and astute bakers will realize this is a muffin recipe in disguise.

It is--but it's so sweet compared to my usual muffin recipe that I'm calling these cupcakes instead.

Kalua Pig, Pineapple, and Cabbage Salad

Slow-cooked Hawaiian style Kalua pig, layered over an Asian dressed cabbage salad and topped with fresh pineapple.

I got out of the car and immediately my ears were soothed by the rushing of water. I began to notice calls--most notably the red-winged blackbird that's been ubiquitous throughout the trip, but also plenty of little brown birds whose names I don't know despite iBirdPlus.

As I stood on the banks of Plum Creek I could envision what Laura Ingalls' childhood home was like. It was a very special moment for me.

A few minutes later a van pulled up with Idaho plates and I met the first group of fellow Little House tourists of our trip.

It is a small world.

Grilled Zucchini with Feta

Tender chunks of zucchini grilled and tossed with feta cheese for a simple side dish to accompany a variety of meals.

Let's talk about volunteering. I come from volunteers (my extended family calendar even had a theme one year about how we all volunteer). My daughter volunteers with the gardening program of the local historical society and my son volunteers at the library. My spouse volunteers at community clean ups and when someone is deployed. I volunteer on the base, at the school, and in the community.

Volunteering is a value for our family. It boosts our community and ourselves. 

In the garden, squash plants volunteer. They come from our compost. They come from Halloween pumpkins, nibbled by squirrels. They grow in the front yard flower bed, in landscaped areas of the back yard, and in the middle of the patio.

The thing about volunteers is that we need to feel valued. We need to feel our efforts are making a difference in the community, and we want validation for the work we have done.

Zucchini Pancakes for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner

Patties of shredded zucchini topped with buttery spread and cheese. Make these small for hors d'oeuvres or large for a side dish/vegetarian meal. A terrific way to eat an abundant vegetable.

I've been eating zucchini pancakes for over 30 years. Whoa. That's a long time for a staple dish like this. High time I put it on the blog.

Growing up, my folks gradually turned our backyard into an edible space. The old small in-ground pool was filled in and used for rhubarb and other perennials, and I distinctly recall having the responsibility of a hammer (!) to break up the concrete patio that became a strawberry patch. My dad grew up on a farm and with his skills we grew beans, corn, chard, squash and tomatoes. In addition to the strawberries we had cherry and apple trees. Urban homesteading before it was hip.

Although we grew up with a glut of vegetables at different times of the growing season, I don't recall my mom stuffing zucchini into endless loaves of zucchini bread. Perhaps like me she hadn't wanted to turn on the oven. She made these savory pancakes instead. In Mom's curling cookbook, where I found this recipe by Lois Robertson of the City View Curling Club in Ottawa, ON, the title is Zucchini Crepes but we always call them zucchini pancakes. These are similar in preparation/use to my Turnip Fritters and to Meghan's Kohlrabi Fritters. 

Use any summer squash you choose--just shred them as fine as your technology allows you and squeeze as much liquid out as you can. You can also freeze shredded squash for out-of-season pancakes. Freezing the squash breaks the cell walls so that when thawed the liquid seeps out and you get a nice dry squash. Since you lose more moisture after thawing, I generally freeze 1½ times the amount of zucchini that I'll want to use after thawing.

For more recipes using zucchini all day long, please see my Zucchini Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I've also got a Summer Squash Recipes Collection in case you've got a mixed bunch of summer squash and don't know what to do with it. I pin squash recipes of all seasons to my Squash Pinterest board, and share seasonal recipes and round ups from around the web on my FB page. For info on how to use this blog, click here.

Grilled Kohlrabi Leaf Chips on a Stick

Kohlrabi leaves, massaged with oil and seasoned with salt then grilled until crispy. You can eat these.

If you like kale chips and you've got kohlrabi, you should like this.

I'd been thinking that kohlrabi leaves could be grilled and eaten like a kale chip and I tested the concept last week. It works. Don't eat the 'stick'.

Yes, I also grilled the kohlrabi chunks. This bowl made quick work of the leaves.

I feel like that's a no-brainer, but my spouse missed the pre-dinner briefing [why yes, we are a military family, why do you ask?] and manfully chewed through his kohlrabi stems before I noticed.

Don't do like he did. Compost the stem instead. Or feed it to the dog. He may puke it out later.

Just nibble on the leaves while holding onto the stem.

It's like when you're at a summer festival in Japan and you get squid on a stick.
Manfully chew through the squid and leave the stick uneaten.
Don't ask me how I know.

Perhaps obesity in America would be helped by replacing chocolate-covered deep-fried twinkies on a stick with . . . squid. Or kohlrabi.

Beet Hummus--and an improved Beet Recipes Collection of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient

Steamed beets + chick peas and tahini make a tasty, pretty, pale pink hummus.

I'm still waiting to find the beet recipe that I will adore. The beet recipe that is the last way I'll ever want to prepare beets. The beet recipe that makes me look forward to beets in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share box with antici . . . [say it] . . . pation.

I've found that recipe for beet greens. I love them for breakfast or brunch, prepared this way. I could happily eat beet greens like this for the rest of my life. My family doesn't share the beet greens love, so I keep sharing new beet greens recipes on the blog.

In my summer project to transform my little blog Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient into a resource for folks eating from the farm share, I reached out to other bloggers for their beet and beet greens recipes. I'm delighted to show off the fruits of our combined labors [their recipes and my recall of my ABCs] in this post. I've got over 50 recipes to date and more coming!

The beets I used to make this hummus did not come from my farm share. During the window of time between the last Fall share delivery and the first pick up of the 2015 season, the generous folks from Melissa's Produce sent me a lovely cookbook and some packages of steamed beets. If you don't have access to fresh farm share beets, this product would be a good substitute. The beets are small enough to pickle or use as a side dish, and peeled/cooked ready to use. I used mine in hummus, and other I was not required to write nor compensated for this post [other than the beets + the cookbook].

As you can tell from the start of this post, I still haven't found the beet recipe. But this one ain't half bad. It's cute with carrot slices for dipping, it's pretty used as a spread inside wraps, and it tastes great with pretzel thins. Adding chick peas and tahini tones down the vibrant color to a pleasing pink.

Why yes, a kohlrabi leaf does provide a pop of color to your appetizer spread.

For more recipe suggestions to help you find YOUR BEET RECIPE, please see my newly-expanded Beet Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I'm sharing additional vegetable appetizers on my Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks Pinterest board and on my FB page. Need help using this blog? Click here.